No hyphens need apply

Add comment March 19th, 2009

When dealing with compound modifiers, heed this advice from The Associated Press Stylebook:

“Do not use a hyphen between adverbs ending in ‘-ly’ and adjectives they modify.” For example, no hyphens are needed in the following: “a badly damaged reputation,” “a publicly owned company,” “a greatly admired teacher,” “a grossly overpaid actor” and so on.

Just remember that not all words ending in “-ly” are adverbs. “Family,” for instance, can be a noun or an adjective, so a hyphen is recommended in a phrase like “family-oriented programs.”

As always, beware of homonyms. “Holy,” as in “holy orders,” and “holey,” as in “holey socks,” are adjectives, but “wholly,” as in “wholly owned subsidiary,” is an adverb.

And please resist the temptation to use nonexistent adverbs, like “majorly.”