Hyphens & Parentheses

Hyphens -There is no space between a hyphen and the character on either side of it.

1. Use a hyphen for compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine and with fractions used as adjectives.
   1. Thirty-eighth Street
   2. One-half cup
   3. We recovered about two-thirds of the stolen cash.
   4. One-half is slightly less than five-eighths.

However, do not hyphenate terms like a third or a half. (Nouns not adjectives)

1. Hyphenate a compound adjective that precedes a noun it modifies.
   1. A well-written book
   2. A world-famous skier

Parentheses ( )

1. Use parentheses to enclose material that is not considered of major importance in a sentence.
   1. Richard Wright (1908-1960) wrote the novel Black Boy.
   2. Aunt Constance (my mother’s aunt and my great-aunt) is coming to visit.

1. Capitalize and use end punctuation for parenthetical matter that stands alone as a sentence. Do not capitalize and use end punctuation for parenthetical matter contained within a sentence.
   1. Complete the form. (Please print or type.)
   2. The protagonist (the author did not give him a name) is a sniper.