Punctuation Rules

Below are the basic AP Stylebook punctuation rules.

AMPERSAND (&)

Use the ampersand when it is part of a company's formal name or composition title: House & Garden, Procter & Gamble, Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway.

The ampersand should not otherwise be used in place of and, except for some accepted abbreviations: B&B, R&B.

Note: Most Hofstra building names, departments, and centers follow this rule. Exception: Science & Innovation Center

APOSTROPHE

•   Plural noun ending in s: Add only an apostrophe: the girls’ toys

•   Singular noun not ending in s: Add ’s: fox’s den, prince’s life

•   Singular common noun ending in s: Add ’s even if the next word begins with s: the hostess’s invitation, the hostess’s seat, the witness’s answer

•   Singular proper noun ending in s: Use only an apostrophe: Socrates’ life

•   Multiple letters: Add “s” with no apostrophe: VIPs

•   Single letters: Add an apostrophe and “s” to avoid confusion: A’s and B’s

Note: Personal pronouns (ours, yours, hers, theirs, its, etc.) DO NOT use an apostrophe. They are already possessive.

COLON

Capitalize the first word after the colon ONLY if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence:

He promised this: The company will never neglect the needs of its employees.

There were three considerations: expense, time, and feasibility.

COMMA

•   Use a comma to separate adjectives equal in rank: a dark, dangerous street.

•   Do not use a comma when the last adjective is an integral element of a noun phrase: an expensive fur coat.

•   Use a comma after yes and no: Yes, I will go.

•   When a conjunction joins the last two elements in a series of three or more, a comma – known as the serial comma or the Oxford comma – should appear before the conjunction. If the last element consists of a pair joined by and, the pair should still be preceded by a serial comma and the first and. This style prevents ambiguity. (Note that this is an exception to AP Stylebook.)

She took a photograph of her parents, the president, and the vice president.

The lunch options included hamburgers, hot dogs, and peanut butter and jelly.

Note: The phrase as well as is not equivalent to and.

The lunch options included hamburgers, hot dogs, and peanut butter and jelly, as well as turkey sandwiches.

Note: Always place commas inside quotation marks.

DASH

•   Abrupt change: Through her long reign, the queen and her family have adapted – usually skillfully – to the changing taste of the time.

•   Series within a phrase: He listed the qualities – intelligence, humor, conservatism, independence – that he liked in an executive.

Note: Put a space on both sides of a dash.

HYPHEN

In general, a compound modifier – two or more words that express a single concept – does not need a hyphen if the modifier is commonly recognized as one phrase, and if the meaning is clear and unambiguous without the hyphen. Examples include third grade teacher, chocolate chip cookie, special effects embellishment, climate change report, public land management, real estate transaction, emergency room visit, cat food bowl, parking lot entrance, national security briefing, computer software maker.

Do use a hyphen if it’s needed to make the meaning clear and avoid unintended meanings:

small-business owner, better-qualified candidate, free-thinking philosophy, loose-knit group.

No hyphen is needed to link a two-word phrase that includes the adverb very and all adverbs ending in -ly: a very good time, an easily remembered rule.

Many combinations that are hyphenated before a noun are not hyphenated when they occur after a noun: She works full time. She is well aware of the consequences. The children are soft spoken. The play is second rate. The calendar is up to date.

But use a hyphen if confusion could otherwise result, especially with longer compound modifiers or those that are not as commonly used: The steel surface should be blast-cleaned. The technology is state-of-the-art. The test was multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank. He will work arm-in-arm with the director.

NOTE: Please see below for additional guidance in the PREFIXES and SUFFIXES entries.

PREFIXES 

Hofstra and AP preferences on whether to use a hyphen following a prefix are based largely on Merriam-Webster. Generally, no hyphen. But there are exceptions.

Three rules are constant:

• Use a hyphen if the prefix ends in a vowel and the word that follows begins with the same vowel. Exceptions: cooperate, coordinate, and double-e combinations such as preestablish, preeminent, reenact, reelect.

• Use a hyphen if the word that follows is capitalized: un-American, for example.

• Use a hyphen to join doubled prefixes: sub-subparagraph.

In general, NO HYPHEN with prefixes except as noted in the above three rules and below:

a-

ante-

anti- Generally no hyphen. But note a number of exceptions. They include: anti-abortion, anti-aggression, anti-apartheid, anti-collision, anti-corruption, anti-cruelty, anti-labor, anti-racist, anti-racketeering, anti-secrecy, anti-terrorism, anti-war.

arch-

after- Generally no hyphen after this prefix when it is used to form a noun: aftertaste, afterlife, aftermarket. Exception: after-party. Follow after- with a hyphen when it is used to form compound modifiers: after-tax results, after-work celebration.

bi-

by- Exception: by-election.

counter-

dis-

down-

ex- No hyphen for words that use ex- in the sense of out of, such as excommunicate. Hyphenate when using ex- in the sense of former, such as ex-president. Do not capitalize ex- when attached to a formal title before a name: ex-President Barack Obama. The prefix modifies the entire term: ex-New York Gov. Mario Cuomo; not New York ex-Gov. Usually former is better.

extra- No hyphen when extra means outside of: extralegal, extraterrestrial, extramarital. Follow extra- with a hyphen when it is part of a compound modifier describing a condition beyond the usual size, extent or degree: extra-base hit, extra-large book.

fore- No hyphen except for these nautical exceptions, based on long-standing practice: fore-topgallant, fore-topsail, fore-topmast.

hydro-

hyper-

in- In general, no hyphen when it means not (inaccurate, insufferable). Other uses without a hyphen: inbound, infighting, indoor, inpatient, infield. A few combinations take a hyphen, however, including in-depth, in-house, in-group, in-law.

infra-

inter-

intra-

mega-

micro-

mid- In addition to the general rules for prefixes, use a hyphen when a figure follows: mid-30s.

mini-

multi-

non-

out- Generally no hyphen.

over-

post- Generally no hyphen.

pre- Generally no hyphen.

re- Generally no hyphen. For some words, the sense is the governing factor: recover (regain); re-cover (cover again); recreate (relax); re-create (create again); resign (quit); re-sign (sign again).

semi- This includes no hyphen in semiautomatic and semiautonomous.

sub-

super-

supra-

trans-

ultra-

under-

un-

up-

Generally, USE A HYPHEN with these prefixes unless listed without a hyphen in Merriam-Webster or noted below:

all-

full-

half- Hyphenated combinations include half-baked, half-life, half-truth, half-moon, half-cocked, half-hearted. Two-word combinations without a hyphen include half dozen, half brother, half off. One word, no hyphen, for some words including halfback, halftone.

Also: halftime as a noun, in keeping with widespread practice in sports copy. But half-time as an adjective outside sports contexts.

like- Follow with a hyphen when used as a prefix meaning similar to: like-minded, like-natured. No hyphen in words that have meanings of their own: likelihood, likewise, likeness.

off- Follow Merriam-Webster. Some examples: offbeat, offhand, offline, offset, offshore, off-brand, off-key, off-limits, off-load.

pan- Most combinations with pan- are proper nouns. Use a hyphen with those, and capitalize both pan- and the proper name it is combined with: Pan-African, Pan-American. No hyphen when combined with a common noun: panchromatic.

part-

pro-

self- Always hyphenate: self-assured, self-government, self-defense

wide- Follow Merriam-Webster. Usually hyphenated. Some examples: wide-angle, wide-eyed, wide-awake, wide-open. Exception: widespread.

An exception to Merriam-Webster:

co- Use a hyphen for nouns, adjectives, and verbs that indicate occupation or status: co-author, co-chair, co-defendant, co-host, co-pilot, co-star, co-worker.

As part of a formal title before a name: co-President Alexa Manola, co-Executive Director Alfredo Hudson. Use no hyphen in other combinations: coeducation, coexist, cooperative (but co-op), copay.

Cooperate, coordinate and related words are exceptions to the rule that a hyphen is used if a prefix ends in a vowel and the word that follows begins with the same vowel. Co-op retains the hyphen to avoid confusion with a chicken’s home.

SEMICOLON

•   To clarify a series: He is traveling to the wedding with his son, John, of Chicago; two daughters, Jane and Susan, of Boston; and sister, Martha, of Omaha, Nebraska.

•   To link independent clauses: The package was due last week; it arrived today. 

Note: Always place semicolons outside quotation marks.

SUFFIXES 

Hofstra and AP preferences on whether to use a hyphen before a suffix are based largely on Merriam-Webster. Generally, no hyphen. But there are exceptions.

Here is the style for some commonly used suffixes for nouns and adjectives. Consult Merriam-Webster for words not listed here. Use two words for verb forms.

-down Generally, no hyphen. Examples: breakdown, countdown, meltdown, showdown, slowdown, shutdown. Exceptions include sit-down, drop-down.

-fold No hyphen for twofold, fourfold, tenfold, hundredfold, thousandfold, and similar. Rephrasing may be better.

-free Generally hyphenated. Examples: duty-free, fat-free, hands-free, interest-free, germ-free, scot-free, sugar-free, tax-free. But: carefree.

-goer No hyphen in commonly used words such as concertgoer, filmgoer, moviegoer, theatergoer.

-holder No hyphen in commonly used words such as bondholder, cardholder, jobholder, officeholder, placeholder, shareholder, stakeholder, titleholder. Exceptions include cup holder, pass holder, record holder, ticket holder. Also: credit card holder.

-in Generally hyphenated. Examples: break-in, cave-in, log-in, sit-in, walk-in-, write-in. An exception: login.

-less Generally, no hyphen. Examples include waterless, weightless, wireless.

-like Generally, no hyphen unless the letter l would be tripled or the main element is a proper noun. Examples: businesslike, catlike, childlike, doglike, lifelike. But: Norwalk-like, shell-like. An exception: flu-like.

-long No hyphen in daylong/dayslong, hourlong/hourslong, monthlong/monthslong, yearlong/yearslong, weeklong/weekslong.

-maker, -making No hyphen in commonly used words such as automaker, automaking; dealmaker, dealmaking; drugmaker (but drug-making); filmmaker, filmmaking; moneymaker, moneymaking; policymaker, policymaking; speechmaker, speechmaking. An exception: decision-maker, decision-making. Also: coffee maker. Avoid contrived combinations such as difference-maker and magic-maker. But if using less common terms such as those, include the hyphen. No hyphen with proper nouns, such as iPhone maker.

-off Generally, no hyphen. Examples: cutoff, knockoff, layoff, liftoff, playoff, standoff, takeoff, tipoff. Exceptions include charge-off, send-off, show-off.

-out Generally, no hyphen. Examples: dropout, fallout, hideout, pullout, walkout, wipeout. Exceptions include cop-out, fade-out.

-over Generally, no hyphen. Examples: carryover, holdover, makeover, stopover, takeover, walkover. Exceptions include do-over.

-time No hyphen in Christmastime, daytime, nighttime, peacetime, springtime, wartime, wintertime, and similar. But: She works full time; she has a full-time job. He works part time; he has a part-time job. They work half time; they have a half-time job. Halftime for the period in the middle of a sports match.

-up Many of these combinations are hyphenated. Examples: call-up, flare-up, follow-up, frame-up, grown-up, hang-up, mix-up, mock-up, runner-up, shake-up, tie-up, walk-up. Those with no hyphen include breakup, checkup, cleanup, holdup, letup, lineup, pileup, roundup, setup, startup. Use a hyphen for any not listed here or in Merriam-Webster.

-ward Generally, no hyphen and no s. Examples: afterward, backward, downward, forward, homeward, inward, onward, outward, southward, skyward, toward, upward.

-wear One word, no hyphen for activewear, daywear, eveningwear, eyewear, headwear, menswear, outerwear, sportswear, swimwear, womenswear.

-wide No hyphen for commonly recognized terms such as citywide, countywide, statewide, storewide, worldwide. But use a hyphen — or don’t use the construction at all — when combining with a proper noun and/or when the unhyphenated form would be awkward or hard to read, such as hospitalwide, NASAwide, Europewide. Often, it’s better to rephrase.

-wise Generally, no hyphen when it means in the direction of or with regard to. Examples: clockwise, lengthwise, otherwise. Avoid contrived combinations such as moneywise, religionwise. Use a hyphen in terms such as penny-wise and street-wise because they are compound adjectives in which wise means smart, not an application of the suffix -wise. The hyphenated street-wise is an exception to Merriam-Webster.