More Reps!

This month’s workout, “Hyphens, Part 3a,” centers on CMOS 17, paragraph 7.89 (our famous hyphenation table), and in particular the first half of section 3, “Compounds Formed with Specific Terms.”

Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study that part of the hyphenation table before answering the questions. (Workout 23, “Hyphens, Part 3b,” covers the second half of section 3.)

Subscribers to The Chicago Manual of Style Online may click through to the linked sections of the Manual. (We also offer a 30-day free trial of CMOS Online.)

Note: Dictionaries and style guides sometimes disagree. These questions are designed to test knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style, which prefers Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition. Other style guides may follow a different dictionary.

[Editor’s note: This quiz relies on and links to the 17th edition of CMOS.]

Chicago Style Workout 22: Hyphens, Part 3a

1. Adverbial phrases containing all are open; adjectival phrases are usually hyphenated both before and after a noun.

all out
all over
an all-out effort
the book is all-encompassing

a.True

b.False

2. Phrases formed with borne are always closed.

waterborne
foodborne
mosquitoborne

a.True

b.False

3. Nouns formed with century are always open; adjectival compounds are hyphenated before but not after a noun.

the fourteenth century
a fourteenth-century monastery
its style was fourteenth century

a.True

b.False

4. Compounds formed with cross are styled per Merriam-Webster’s; if not listed, noun forms are open.

a cross-country race
a cross section

a.True

b.False

5. E terms are hyphenated except for email (a departure from previous editions of CMOS) and certain proper nouns.

email
e-book
eBay

a.True

b.False

6. Compounds with elect are hyphenated.

president-elect
vice-president-elect
county-assessor-elect

a.True

b.False

7. Ever is usually hyphenated before but not after a noun.

ever-ready help
he was ever eager

a.True

b.False

8. Compounds formed with free as the second element are open both before and after a noun.

a toll free number
the driver is accident free

a.True

b.False

9. Compounds with full are hyphenated before a noun, otherwise open.

a full-length mirror
the mirror is full length

a.True

b.False

10. Grand compounds are closed; great compounds are hyphenated.

grandfather
granddaughter
great-grandmother
great-great-nephew

a.True

b.False

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Photo: Courtesy CDC/Amanda Mills, acquired from Public Health Image Library.

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