Hyphens: raccoon
The Grammar Bit!
Read the three scintillating sentences opposite. You’ll notice that they each contain one or more hyphenated words (bold). Hyphens (not to be confused with dashes) join either prefixes or whole words to new words to make one thing.
The new words created fall into the following word classes:
- Nouns (show-off, merry-go-round, runner-up)
- Adjectives (part-time, two-storey, sports-mad)
- Verbs (gift-wrap, baby-sit, re-cover, re-discover)
Hyphens can be used to make your sentences both more descriptive and easier to understand.
With your talk partner, see if you can identify the word class of each of the hyphenated words opposite. Discuss how the meaning of each sentence might alter if the hyphens were removed.
Scintillating Sentences
1) The fast-moving raccoon found his way two the top of the three-storey building by climbing the rickety ladder.
2) The wily raccoon re-entered the garbage bin that was located on the second floor of the multi-storey car park.
3) The intelligent raccoon managed to avoid the well-lit main streets by weaving his way through the pitch-black alleyways.
Did you know?
The raccoon’s black eye mask (which makes it look like an adorable bandit) helps the creature see more clearly. It does this by absorbing the light that would otherwise bounce into the racoon’s eyes and obstruct its vision.