Another Hyphen Lesson

rogersgeorge on December 6th, 2021

First, let’s look at the comic, specifically the words “to do.” How correct are these, and why?

Betty Comic Strip for October 24, 2021 — https://www.gocomics.com/betty/2021/10/24

Okay, the answers:

Panel 1: Let’s don’t call it a little dash. Call it a hyphen.
Panel 2: Here “to-do” is a compound noun. The hyphen is okay. (I think she’s using “to-do’s” as an activity, not as punctuation.)
Panel 3: Here he’s using it as a verb. Should not have a hyphen.
Final panel: Here “to-do” is a compound adjective. Hyphen is correct.

How did you do?

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Rogers George has been a technical writer for more than 20 years. He has written on subjects as diverse as outhouse assembly, restaurant reviews, software, information security, and scientific equipment. He has his own writing consultancy and is always happy to discuss writing and grammar. Drop him a line at curmudgeon@writing-rag.com.

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