1.85 use of hyphens

Some compound nouns are written with hyphens instead of spaces between the words.

• The only experience I've got of foreign languages is pen-friends.
• Can't you find a baby-sitter and come over for dinner?
• Judy's elder brother-in-law lived with his family.

Some are written with either a hyphen or a space between the words. For example, both 'air-conditioner' and 'air conditioner' are widely used.

A few compound nouns which consist of more than two words are written partly with hyphens and partly with spaces, for example 'back-seat driver' and 'bring-and-buy sale'.

• ...children from one-parent families.
• Another route is by active participation in a Parent-Teacher Association.