Often when the description follows the noun, it is not necessary to hyphenate it.Ĭlick here to try a free quiz on hyphens. Cannot can also be expanded to the two-word version can not, but this is usually for emphasis. Therefore, two-story is a compound adjective requiring a hyphen.Įxample: The announcer offered a blow-by-blow description of the boxers’ punches.īlow-by-blow is acting as one idea. Cannot is the most common expansion of cant (i.e., it expands to one word not two). The word two in this sentence is an adjective working together with story to describe the noun building. The word lovely is an -ly adjective, because we could say a lovely home.Įxample: We live in a two-story building. Is wrist watch one word or two words no it is not an one word it is of two word. English writers confuse incase for in case because incase is an alternate spelling of the verb encase. Since 'Find in' allows you to search only one layer at a time, it will probably be quicker to use 'Find Next' (the likelihood is that there will be only one hit, anyway). Youll see 'Format: Do not check spelling or grammar' beneath the 'Find what' box. The word barely is an -ly adverb answering how edible the cake was. Grammar students often ask The Word Counter if they should use incase or in case, but the answer to this question depends on what you’re trying to convey. Check the box for 'Do not check spelling or grammar' and click OK. In most cases it is compound adjectives–adjectives that act as one idea with other adjectives–that get hyphenated in front of nouns.Įxample: The crowd threw out the barely edible cake. It can be 'steppingstone,' 'stepping-stone,' or 'stepping stone.' It seems (from my dictionary searches) that the first two are more common in American English and the third one is used in all dialects of English, so if you're aiming for British English (or Australian, etc.) then I'd go with 'stepping stone.' level 2. For example, should you write nearly-extinct wolves or nearly extinct wolves?Īdverbs ending in -ly should not be hyphenated.
Many of us get confused about when to hyphenate between words.