---
title: hyphen — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «hyphen» in the school dictionary: A hyphen is a short line (-) used to join words or parts of words together, as in «well-known» or «twenty-one». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# hyphen

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** hyphen, Twenty one, you, word, printer, My · **What happens:** be, use, join, know, split, go on · **To what, where:** short line, words, hyphen, end, word, noun · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«hyphen» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [hyphen in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/hyphen.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A hyphen is a short line (-) used to join words or parts of words together, as in «well-known» or «twenty-one».

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyphen:m1:1
# text = A hyphen is a short line (-) used to join words or parts of words together, as in «well-known» or «twenty-one».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	hyphen	hyphen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	line	line	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	7	punct	_	_
10	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl:relcl	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	join	join	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
13	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obj	_	_
14	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	parts	part	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	conj	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nmod	_	_
18	together	together	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
20	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	25	mark	_	_
21	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	25	mark	_	_
22	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	25	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	25	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	known	know	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	25	punct	_	_
27	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	31	cc	_	_
28	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	31	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	twenty	twenty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	31	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	29	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	25	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	31	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a hyphen | a short line |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **use** | participle |  | a short line *not said here* |  |  |  | together *property* | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **join** | to-infinitive |  | words or parts of words |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent word=Patient |
| 4 | **know** *in a quote* | participle |  |  |  |  |  | well *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A hyphen is also used at the end of a line when a word is split and goes on to the next line.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyphen:m2:1
# text = A hyphen is also used at the end of a line when a word is split and goes on to the next line.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	hyphen	hyphen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	line	line	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
12	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	16	mark	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj:pass	_	_
15	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	aux:pass	_	_
16	split	split	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	advcl	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	goes	go	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
19	on	on	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
20	to	to	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
22	next	next	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	amod	_	_
23	line	line	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | present · passive |  | a hyphen |  |  | at the end of a line |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 2 | **split** | present · passive |  | a word |  |  |  |  | vn break-45.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 3 | **go on** | present |  |  |  |  |  | to the next line | vn function-105.2.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Twenty-one has a hyphen in it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyphen:x1:1
# text = Twenty-one has a hyphen in it.
1	Twenty	twenty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	1	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nsubj	_	_
4	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	hyphen	hyphen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Twenty one | a hyphen |  | hyphen |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hyphen=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Put a hyphen in «well-known» when it comes before a noun.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyphen:x2:1
# text = Put a hyphen in «well-known» when it comes before a noun.
1	Put	put	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	hyphen	hyphen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	known	know	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
10	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	12	advmod	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	comes	come	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	parataxis	_	_
13	before	before	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	noun	noun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put** | imperative | you *not said here* | a hyphen |  |  |  |  | vn invest-13.5.4-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent hyphen=Goal |
| 2 | **know** *in a quote* | participle | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | well *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 3 | **come** | present | hyphen |  |  | a noun |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme before noun=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The word was too long, so the printer split it with a hyphen.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyphen:x3:1
# text = The word was too long, so the printer split it with a hyphen.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	printer	printer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	split	split	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	hyphen	hyphen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the word |  |  |  |  | long *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **split** | past | the printer | word |  |  |  | with a hyphen | vn break-45.1 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent it=Patient with hyphen=Instrument |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My name is double-barrelled, with a hyphen in the middle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyphen:x4:1
# text = My name is double-barrelled, with a hyphen in the middle.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux:pass	_	_
4	double	double	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	barrelled	barrell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	hyphen	hyphen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	middle	middle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **barrell** | present · passive |  | My name |  |  |  | with a hyphen in the middle | tree rules |
| 2 | **name** |  | My |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Is «e-mail» written with a hyphen or without?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyphen:x5:1
# text = Is «e-mail» written with a hyphen or without?
1	Is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
2	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	e-mail	e-mail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
5	written	write	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	hyphen	hyphen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	without	without	ADP	IN	_	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** *in a quote* | present |  | e-mail |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **write** | participle |  | e-mail *not said here* |  |  |  | with a hyphen | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A man-eating shark is different from a man eating shark!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyphen:x6:1
# text = A man-eating shark is different from a man eating shark!
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
2	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	eating	eat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	shark	shark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
8	from	from	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
11	eating	eat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	acl	_	_
12	shark	shark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | a eating shark |  |  |  |  | from a man; different *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **eat** | gerund | a man *not said here* | shark |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shark=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Re-enter has a hyphen so the two e's do not run together.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyphen:x7:1
# text = Re-enter has a hyphen so the two e's do not run together.
1	Re-enter	Re-enter	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	hyphen	hyphen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	e	e	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
11	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
12	run	run	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
13	together	together	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Re-enter | a hyphen |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hyphen=Patient |
| 2 | **not** **run** | present · do-support | the two e |  |  |  |  | together *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher circled the missing hyphen.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyphen:x8:1
# text = The teacher circled the missing hyphen.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	circled	circle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	missing	missing	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	hyphen	hyphen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **circle** | past | the teacher | the missing hyphen |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme hyphen=Co-Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [hyperlink](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyperlink/)
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