We should be geared toward both our short- and long-term goals.

We should be geared toward both our short- and long-term goals.

Is a hyphen needed after 'short'?

Thanks.

Sometimes writers may use what is called a suspending hyphen, a hyphen that is used when two or more adjectives have the same base element, and the base element is shown only with the last term. Consider the following examples:
Example : Although they couldn’t wait for their new furniture, Bill and Abby knew that there would be a three- to four-day delay in delivery.
(I am not a teacher.)

reference :writersrelief.com

Tan Elaine said:

We should be geared toward both our short-and long-term goals.

Is a hyphen needed after 'short'?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Both 'long term' and 'short term' have an adjectival form where you must include the hyphen to modify a noun (long-term & short-term).

When you use two hyphenated adjectives before a noun, and the second word of both adjectives is the same, then you can omit the second word of the first adjective, but you do still include the hyphen following it. It lets the reader know that there's a second hyphenated adjective, and both adjectives have the same second word.

So yes, it is needed.

A tree covered with moss and vines would be "a vine- and moss-covered tree."
Literature from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries would be "eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature."

(not a teacher, just a language lover)

EnglishLearner1990 said:

Sometimes writers may use what is called a suspending hyphen, a hyphen that is used when two or more adjectives have the same base element, and the base element is shown only with the last term. Consider the following examples:
Example : Although they couldn’t wait for their new furniture, Bill and Abby knew that there would be a three- to four-day delay in delivery.
(I am not a teacher.)

Click to expand...

I'm sorry because of my previous mistake .

reference : writersrelief.com

EnglishLearner1990 said:

Sometimes writers may use what is called a suspending hyphen, a hyphen that is used when two or more adjectives have the same base element, and the base element is shown only with the last term. Consider the following examples:
Example : Although they couldn’t wait for their new furniture, Bill and Abby knew that there would be a three- to four-day delay in delivery.
(I am not a teacher.)

Click to expand...

Hello, EnglishLearner1990.:-D
Thank you for the information. It is really useful.

I'd like to tell you one thing if I may.
You've found it on the Internet and brought (copied and pasted) it here, haven't you?
I think you should credit (clearly state) the source or provide a link to it.

I'd do it like this:

Hello.:-D
I've found some useful information here: http://www.writersrelief.com/blog/2...phens-muddle-your-adjectives-or-your-writing/




We should be careful about the copyright thing.

:-D

tzfujimino said:

Hello, EnglishLearner1990.:-D
Thank you for the information. It is really useful.

I'd like to tell you one thing if I may.
You've found it on the Internet and brought (copied and pasted) it here, haven't you?
I think you should credit (clearly state) the source or provide a link to it.

I'd do it like this:




We should be careful about the copyright thing.

:-D

Click to expand...

Yes, you're right.

You need a space after the first hyphen, though.