Another Hyphen Lesson

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

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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When you use a noun to modify an adjective, you create a compound adjective, which requires a hyphen. Here’s a headline from a Smithsonian article:

Does that mean that the Smithsonian inspired the collections? Not quite! When you keep reading the headline, you hit a bump in the road when you get to “available.” What’s that verb doing there?

Aha! It’s Smithsonian-inspired collections that are available.

C’mon, folks, get your punctuation right. Harrumpf.

Here’s one of several pictures from the article:

Diz assumes a hyphen, which would tie “black” and “car” together, making “black car” a compound adjective.

So remember, hyphens tie words (and parts of words) together.

Look at the two hyphens:

• The first hyphen is wrong. “Well” is a plain old adverb modifying “known.”
• The second hyphen is correct. “Well-known” is a compound adjective modifying “places.

I admit, the difference is a bit subtle.

Meter is a unit of linear measure. If you want to use meter for area, you have to say “square meters” (or meter² or m²). I tend to presume that scientific types know this. Now look at this sentence:

 With a total collection area of 73,000 square meters (roughly 20 square acres), the NAIC stood as the largest single-aperture telescope on the planet from the date of its completion in 1963 to 2016 when China completed its FAST telescope. 

https://www.engadget.com/what-were-losing-with-the-destruction-of-the-arecibo-telescope-173040347.html

Apparently the writer doesn’t know English units! Acre is already a unit of area; you wouldn’t say “square square meters,” would you?

PS—I put the hyphen in “single-aperture” because it’s a compound adjective; a topic for another post.