... and cunning English linguists ....

Is a hyphenated phrase, for example "long-term," one word or two words with a hyphen?

Okay, now FIGHT!!

Two words, no hyphen. I'm not a grammar nazi, but I sometimes pretend to be one.

According to Microsoft Word, it's one.

Oral rather than digital, right?

Depends on use -- noun versus adjective.

Over the long term, one might consider buying long-term bonds.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
Depends on use -- noun versus adjective.

Over the long term, one might consider buying long-term bonds.

I don't think OP was asking whether the phrase "long term" should be hyphenated, but rather, whether in its hyphenated form, it should be counted as one or two words.

If I interpret his question correctly, my answer would be one if written and two if spoken.

-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
Depends on use -- noun versus adjective.

Over the long term, one might consider buying long-term bonds.

I don't think OP was asking whether the phrase "long term" should be hyphenated, but rather, whether in its hyphenated form, it should be counted as one or two words.

If I interpret his question correctly, my answer would be one if written and two if spoken.

-Rob

Are you sure you aren't an economist?

quote:

Give me a one-handed Economist. All my economists say 'on hand...', then 'but on the other...”

― Harry Truman

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
I don't think OP was asking whether the phrase "long term" should be hyphenated, but rather, whether in its hyphenated form, it should be counted as one or two words.

That was my understanding of the question.

I believe a hyphenated word is regarded as, well, a word.

It must be considered a single word, I think. It expresses a single thought.

“He is a dyed-in-the-wool Ford owner.”
“He is a loyal Ford owner.”

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
Depends on use -- noun versus adjective.

Over the long term, one might consider buying long-term bonds.

I don't think OP was asking whether the phrase "long term" should be hyphenated, but rather, whether in its hyphenated form, it should be counted as one or two words.

If I interpret his question correctly, my answer would be one if written and two if spoken.

-Rob

Are you sure you aren't an economist?

quote:

Give me a one-handed Economist. All my economists say 'on hand...', then 'but on the other...”

― Harry Truman

Worse - I'm a lawyer, so it depends.

The odds of getting an unqualified, unambiguous answer from me are slim to none. Unless you ask my wife, in which case the odds are zero.

-Rob

Well, it is kinda, sorta like a hermaphrodital relationship partner where it can swing either way depending on how you plan to use it - as opposed to transgendered where form follows function or vice-versa.

My general rule-of-thumb is how the dictonary lists it. If presented with a hyphen, it's a single word. Otherwise, 2 (or more) words.

(Hence, "rule-of-thumb" is listed without hyphens, so is considered 3 words even if you connect with hyphens.)

Words are separated in writing or print by white space, a hyphen is not white space unless it is at the end of a line intended to split a word for justification purposes.

One word, word!

OP is asking about hyphenated words in general, not specifically about "long-term".

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
Is a hyphenated phrase... one word or two words with a hyphen?

It's both. Two words joined by a hyphen are almost always considered one word. Eventually, if the term is used frequently enough and accepted, then it evolves into one word w/o spacing or hyphenation. E.g.,

summer time -> summer-time -> summertime
voice mail -> voice-mail -> voicemail
side arm -> side-arm -> sidearm

When you use word processing software and have it set to auto line spacing, when a hyphenated word exceeds the length of the line, the software moves the whole hyphenated word to the next line, b/c it considers it one word.

Fritz is correct.

What about SIGforum spellers? It is grammarians.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
What about SIGforum spellers? It is grammarians.

You are correct, and long-term is one word (hypenated).

flashguy