Alternatively known as a dash, subtract, negative, or minus sign, the hyphen ( – ) is a punctuation mark on the underscore key next to the “0” key on US keyboards. Keyboard help and support.

What is a hyphen look like?

What does a hyphen look like? A hyphen is a punctuation mark that looks like a single floating, horizontal line. It is one character long. It is used to join words and word parts, so it will usually be found within a word.

What is an example of a hyphen?

Use a hyphen to join two or more words that stand for a single adjective (describing word) before a noun. Examples: chocolate-covered donuts. well-known doctor.

How do you type a hyphen on a laptop?

For desktop PC: press “alt+ctrl+minus” on the numeric keypad (the number section on the far right of your keyboard). The trick will not work if you press the hyphen-key on the typewriter section of the keyboard.

How do you type a hyphen?

less simple: you need to use an alt code to get an em dash. If you have a numeric keyboard, hold down the Alt key and type 0151 for an em dash or 0150 for an en dash.

How do you know when to use a hyphen?

The Hyphen
Use a hyphen at the end of a line to divide a word where there is not enough space for the whole word. Use a hyphen to indicate a word spelled out letter by letter. Use a hyphen to join two or more words to form compound adjectives that precede a noun. Use a hyphen to avoid awkward doubling of vowels.

What is the difference between a hyphen and a dash on a keyboard?

The dash (—), also called the em dash, is the long horizontal bar, much longer than a hyphen. Few keyboards have a dash, but a word processor can usually produce one in one way or another. If your keyboard can’t produce a dash, you will have to resort to a hyphen as a stand-in.

What is the difference between an en dash and a hyphen?

En dashes, which are about the width of an upper-case N, are often mistaken for hyphens. But, traditionally, en dashes function as a kind of super hyphen. They’re meant to give you a little extra glue when you have a compound modifier that includes a multi-word element that can’t easily be hyphenated.

How do you hyphenate two sentences?

Hyphens connect two words to make a single word. Hyphens are also used to attach a prefix to a word. In some situations, hyphens connect adverbs and adjectives to describe a noun. This can be avoided by rewording the sentence.

Is easy to read hyphenated?

Combinations of adjectives should be hyphenated. This is known as hyphenated adjective (or compound adjective) and while they may seem odd, are in fact proper punctuation. For example: easy-to-read content.