Hyphenating the Age of Characters

Have you ever found yourself writing or revising your manuscript and confused about the rule for using a hyphen? Even though the confusion won’t stop you from writing, it can frustrate an author when they’re trying to polish their manuscript.
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For today’s post, I’m strictly focusing on hyphenating ages. The answer to hyphenate or not to hyphenate is always the same when using the CMOS style guide, which is the same guide used for books published in the US. 

​3 Ways Ages Are Used in a Sentence

There are three typical ways that age (the adjective) is used to describe someone or something in a sentence. What are these? 

1. Adjective form before a noun
2. Adjective form after a noun
3. Noun form

These three forms are relatively simple to understand. All you need to do is look at the sentence that mentions the age and take notice if the age (the adjective) is placed before or after the noun (typically the character) it’s describing. I’ll provide a few examples below.

​Examples of Sentences

1. Adjective form before the noun: The sixty-year-old lady loves sugar cookies.
   
2. Adjective form after the noun: Jennifer is sixty years old and loves sugar cookies.
3. Noun form: The sixty-year-old loves sugar cookies.

If you’re wondering whether or not I love sugar cookies, I do. I also love many other forms of sweets, too, unless they’re expired and are sixty years old. My favorite are minute-old cookies that are still hot and gooey.

For a detailed list of CMOS rules regarding ages and more, check out the site: Editing and Indexing. I love that site because it also clearly states the differences between AP and CMOS style.

I hope these examples have helped you figure out whether or not to use hyphens when inserting the age of a noun (a person, place, or thing) within a sentence. When in doubt, ask an editor. You can always send me a quick email if you have a question about editing.

If you found this post helpful, please consider sharing it on social media. To hire me as your editor or ask a question, email me. I also offer free sample edits for the first 500 words. ​Have fun writing!

Author

Dawn Husted progressed into offering her editing services to clients in 2016, eventually opening Yaupon Berry Press LLC. She's constantly learning new ways of helping clients stay relevant in today’s market, whether by using an SEO strategy targeting high-trafficked keywords or simply editing their content. ​Dawn lives in central Texas with her husband, two energetic kids and an adorable golden retriever.

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