Homophones and Hyphens

Words that sound alike or nearly alike but have different meanings and spellings are called homophones. affect: (verb) to exert influence effect: (verb) to accomplish; (noun) result principal: (adj.) most important; (noun) head of a school principle: (noun) a general or fundamental truth Homophones

Homophones

Use a hyphen to connect two or more words functioning together as an adjective before a noun. Mrs. Douglas gave Toshiko a seashell and some newspaper-wrapped fish to take home to her mother. Richa Gupta is not yet a well-known candidate. The Hyphen

Generally, do not use a hyphen when such compounds follow the noun. - After our television campaign, Richa Gupta will be well known. Do not use a hyphen to connect ly adverbs to the words they modify. - A slowly moving truck tied up traffic. The Hyphen

Hyphenate the written form of fractions and of compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine. One-fourth of my salary goes to pay child care expenses. Use a hyphen with the prefixes all, ex, and self and the suffix –elect. The charity is funneling more money into self-help products Anne King is our club’s president-elect. The Hyphen

A hyphen is used in some words to avoid ambiguity or to separate awkward double or triple letters. Without the hyphen there would be no way to distinguish between words such as re-creation and recreation. Hyphens are sometimes used to separate double or triple letters in compound words. Anti-intellectual; cross-stitch. The Hyphen

If a word must be divided at the end of a line, divide it correctly. Divide words between syllables; never divide a one-syllable word. When I returned from my semester over seas, I didn’t recog- nize one face on the magazine covers. The Hyphen

Never divide a word so that a single letter stands alone at the end of a line or fewer than three letters begin a line. She’ll bring her brother with her when she comes a- gain. (WRONG) As audience to the play The Mousetrap, Hamlet is a watch- er watching watchers. (WRONG) The Hyphen

When dividing a compound word at the end of a line, either make the break between the words that form the compound or put the whole word on the next line. My niece Marielena is determined to become a long-dis- tance runner. (WRONG) The Hyphen