Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Writing

Showing Original Post only (View all)

Foolacious

(537 posts)
Tue Jan 5, 2021, 01:17 PM Jan 2021

Hyphenated ages [View all]

Has hyphenation of ages become the standard in all grammatical contexts?

When I was in school (60's and 70's), here is how ages were presented:

Rover is a 12-year-old dog.
Rover is 12 years old.


In other words, if the age functioned as an adjective, it was hyphenated; as a copulative predicate, it was not.

Now I seldom see, even in formal publications, the non-hyphenated form. Instead, it's:

Rover is a 12-year-old dog.
Rover is 12-years-old.


Oddly, I only rarely see this form extended to other measurements, like height or time.

Rover is a 30-centimeter-tall dog.
Rover is 30 centimeters tall.

RARELY: Rover is 30-centimeters-tall.

It was a 100-year war.
The war lasted 100 years.

RARELY: The war lasted 100-years.

Anyone have a copy of Chicago Manual of Style or other authoritative source handy?

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Writing»Hyphenated ages»Reply #0