A Dozen Punctuation Rules You Absolutely Need to Know

1. Hyphenate your phrasal adjectives.
A small-business incentive is different from a small business incentive. A limited-liability clause is different from a limited liability clause. When two or more words as a unit modify a noun, they must be hyphenated (unless certain exceptions apply). So a hotel’s door sign advising the staff not to disturb the guests would be a do-not-disturb sign. A company that is 25 years old is a 25-year-old company. There are some exceptions:

• Don’t hyphenate simple phrases formed by an -ly adverb and a past-participial adjective <a greatly exaggerated claim>.
• Don’t hyphenate phrases formed with proper nouns <New Zealand exports> or foreign words <a post facto rationalization>.
• Generally, don’t hyphenate phrasal adjectives used after the noun they modify <a job well done>, but there are exceptions based solely on conventions of usage <our HR manager is risk-averse by nature> <the information is time-sensitive>.

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Originally published at hbrascend.org.