Is it seven-years old? Or seven years old?
Is it emerald green tie? Or emerald-green tie?
Two good questions. When is a hyphen appropriate?
The correct answers are:
seven years old
emerald-green tie
And now, here’s why:
According to The Chicago Manual of Style, age terms are hyphenated in both noun and adjective forms (except as in the last two examples); note the space after the first hyphen in the fourth example. The examples apply equally to ages expressed as numerals.
a three-year-old
a five-year-old child
a fifty-five-year-old woman
a group of eight- to ten-year-olds
BUT
seven years old
eighteen years of age
Now on to colors –
Colors hyphenated before, but not after a noun. This departure from Chicago’s former usage serves both simplicity and logic.
emerald-green tie
reddish-brown flagstone
blue-green algae
snow-white dress
black-and-white print
BUT
his tie is emerald green
the stone is reddish brown
the water is blue green
the clouds are snow white
the truth isn’t black and white
Great and helpful information!!
Thanks
An eighty-two-year-old man may have trouble retaining this. Are you on call when needed?
Ron, you’re not alone. I have to keep looking things up because I, too, forget. Now, you can just go to HallardPress.com and type “Hyphen” in the search bar and the article will show up!
These are great articles! Info in small doses.
That’s the idea – small doses that authors will read and retain.