Hyphens as Luxury Punctuation Marks

Correct hyphenation sets business writing apart. Here’s a tour de force example of it from the Wall Street Journal:

There are five dwellings on the property, including a 7,500-square-foot stucco-and-tile Tuscan-style house with three bedrooms.

— Candace Jackson, “Napa Estate Asks $35.8 Million,” wsj.com

These hyphens are correct because the three multiword descriptions all come before the noun house. No hyphen would be needed if you put any of these descriptions after the noun, as in “The house is stucco and tile.”

A hyphen would be necessary for the phrase “three-bedroom house” if it were before the noun. But before nouns, you do leave out hyphens for well-known multiword phrases like ” a tour de force example” or “a real estate listing.”

Using hyphens incorrectly is such a commonplace mistake that most readers won’t notice it. But correct hyphenation adds unmistakable polish to any document.

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Write It Well’s newly updated book Essential Grammar includes further tips on correct hyphenation as well as a thorough review of the fundamental grammar you need to project a credible professional image through your writing.

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