Prefixes - Not Broken, Don't Fix

This is why people don’t like studying grammar. Look up “prefix” online and you might find this definition: “A prefix is a type of affix that precedes the morphemes to which it can attach.” We know, however, that a prefix is merely a letter or group of letters that when added to the front of a word change its meaning. What we don’t always know, though, is whether to put a hyphen between the prefix and the original word. Generally speaking, the answer is no. Prefixes, after all, are not words themselves so they do not take a hyphen. It’s “nonprofit” not “non-profit”; “subtotal,” not “sub-total”; “bicoastal,” not “bi-coastal,” etc. There are, however, exceptions. —       To avoid confusion, use a hyphen when the prefix ends in a vowel and the original word starts with the same vowel: re-election, for instance (exceptions are cooperate and coordinate) —        Use a hyphen when the new word would result in one that means something else: I re-sent the letter so you wouldn’t resent me. Please re-sort the invitations so we can get to the resort and have a drink! —        Use a hyphen when the new word would be just too darn hard to read otherwise: pro-choice instead of prochoice, non-nuclear instead of nonnuclear, etc.

Comments

[Rick Short]

I love the exception to the exception (first bullet).

[Serge Cornelus]

Brilliantly simple. Could you come over to Gthent (B) and explain that again to my first-year bachelor students? :-)

[Dan Santow]

Serge, I'd love to! I've never seen Gthent spelled like that. I always thought it was Ghent.

[Serge Cornelus]

Didn't you know the Dutch spelling rules changed only last year? :-) And if you're ever in the neighbourhood, let me know. I'll show around the nice parts of the cTity...