How do you join compound words in legal writing?
Asked by: Aletha Bosco PhD | Last update: August 3, 2025Score: 4.5/5 (70 votes)
Hyphenated compounds – mother-in-law, merry-go-round – not surprisingly use a hyphen between two or more words, often to prevent ambiguity. Open compounds – school bus, living room – are commonly used together but are written with a space in between.
How do you combine compound words?
Compounds can be formed by combining two or more words (as in double–check, cost–effective, farmhouse, graphic equalizers, park bench, around–the–clock, or son of a gun), by combining prefixes or suffixes with words (as in ex–president, shoeless, presorted, or uninterruptedly), or by combining two or more word elements ...
How to use hyphens in legal writing?
TIP: Hyphenate the two words that work together when they appear before the word they modify, but not when they appear after: The brief contained well-developed policy arguments. The brief contained policy arguments that were well developed. (a) Use a hyphen when adding a prefix to a proper name: un-American.
How do you join compound sentences?
A compound sentence is composed of at least two independent clauses. There are four techniques used to join independent clauses in a compound sentence: • a comma and a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). a semicolon. a semicolon and a transition word (therefore, however, hence, thus…etc.).
What is the rule for compound words?
An open compound word is written with spaces between the words (e.g., “high school”). A hyphenated compound word is written with hyphens between the words (e.g., “sister-in-law”). A closed compound word is written with no spaces or punctuation (e.g., “cheesecake”).
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When to hyphenate compound words?
A compound word consists of 2 or more words that carry a new meaning when used together. Hyphens link elements of compound words as a phrase, but usually only when they are used before a noun as adjectives. Don't use hyphens when the phrase is after the noun in the sentence structure.
What punctuation do you use to join compound words?
A hyphen ( - ) is used to link parts of a compound word.
What are the two ways to combine a compound sentence?
- comma and a conjunction ("and," "but," "or," "for," or "yet")
- semicolon and a transitional adverb, like "therefore," "moreover," or "thus"
- semicolon (;)
- colon (:)
What acronym is used to remember all of the coordinating conjunctions?
The mnemonic acronym FANBOYS can be used to remember the most common coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
How to join compound words in legal writing?
Hyphenated compounds – mother-in-law, merry-go-round – not surprisingly use a hyphen between two or more words, often to prevent ambiguity. Open compounds – school bus, living room – are commonly used together but are written with a space in between.
What is the Dinkus in legal writing?
When used in legal text, the dinkus indicates an abbreviation within amendments to code while not implying the repeal of the omitted sections.
How do you list elements in legal writing?
Use numbered lists and bullet points
List numbers or bullets are located down left side of the page, where studies show that screen readers look for structure. A brief introduction to a numbered list explaining how many items the list contains can help ensure that the reader will be on the lookout for each point.
What are compound words to join sentences?
Compound sentences are easy to identify because they usually use a coordinating conjunction, which you may remember as FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. However, compound sentences can also use a semicolon to connect two clauses, in which case no conjunction is necessary.
What type of compound word is father-in-law?
Other compound nouns are neatly tied together with a hyphen. These are called hyphenated compound nouns, and examples include: father-in-law.
How to join compound sentences?
A compound sentence is a sentence that has at least two independent clauses joined by a comma, semicolon or conjunction. An independent clause is a clause that has a subject and verb and forms a complete thought.
What are 10 examples of compound sentences?
- I like to read, and my sister enjoys painting.
- He plays soccer, but she prefers swimming.
- They study hard, so they get good grades.
- We work during the day, and we relax in the evening.
- She loves her job, yet she complains about it a lot.
What are the rules for joining sentences?
Use a coordinating contraction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) WITH a comma to join two simple sentences together. The rabbit jumped, for the kangaroo jumped. The little girl laughed, and the little boy laughed. The rabbit did not jump and run, nor did the kangaroo jump and run.
What is used to join two compound words?
Sometimes, they need a hyphen, or a dash that is used to join words together. Compound words should be hyphenated when they come before a noun or when two nouns combine to make a verb.
What is a 20 example of a complex sentence?
Examples of Complex Sentences
Because he was late again, he would be docked a day's pay. While I am a passionate basketball fan, I prefer football. Although she was considered smart, she failed all her exams. Whenever it rains, I like to wear my blue coat.
What punctuation is used to join compound numbers and words?
Hyphens are only used to combine certain words together. They are not strong enough to set off phrases or words from a sentence. Use hyphens in the following situations: Use in compound numbers and fractions.
Is chocolate cake a compound word?
For example, the modifier and head of the compound chocolate cake are from high-frequency families; many compounds include the modifier chocolate (e.g., chocolate + bar, pudding, pie, fudge, candy, milk) and many include the head cake (e.g., lemon, coconut, pound, layer, cup, griddle, angel food, + cake).
How do you know when a word is a compound word?
A compound word is a union of two or more words, either with or without a hyphen. It conveys a unit idea that is not as clearly or quickly conveyed by the component words in unconnected succes- sion.