TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
The rule doesn't apply to adverbs that end in "ly." In this example,
"deeply" is an adverb that is modifying "flawed." Yes, together they are
acting as an adjective, but the adverb is modifying the verb form.
My source, which is an admittedly ancient but still reliable book for
editors called Words Into Type, says "Hyphenate the compound adjective
of which one component is an adverb and the other an adjective or
participle if it acts as a unit modifier and the adverb could be misread
as a modifier of the noun . . . [some examples]. If the adverb ends in
-ly or could not be misread as a simple adjective modifying the noun,
the hyphen is not necessary."
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+kay -dot- robart=tea -dot- state -dot- tx -dot- us -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kay -dot- robart=tea -dot- state -dot- tx -dot- us -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com]
On Behalf Of Richard Mateosian
Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2011 3:31 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Common grammar question
This rule may be too broad, depending on what you mean by "serving as
a single adjective." If I say that Macbeth is a deeply flawed
character, I certainly don't need a hyphen. Or here's one I often see
hyphenated, but I wouldn't: His operation ran like a well oiled
machine. ...RM
On Thu, Jan 6, 2011 at 11:24 AM, Susan W Gallagher <susanwg -at- gmail -dot- com>
wrote:
Richard Mateosian <xrm -at- pacbell -dot- net>
Berkeley, California
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with
Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as kay -dot- robart -at- tea -dot- state -dot- tx -dot- us -dot-
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
