5 Types of Phrasal Adjectives That Require Hyphens

5 Types of Phrasal Adjectives That Require Hyphens 5 Types of Phrasal Adjectives That Require Hyphens 5 Types of Phrasal Adjectives That Require Hyphens By Mark Nichol Hyphens, for the most part, have been relieved of their duty to connect prefixes to root words (though many people persist in unnecessarily hyphenating such terms as nonprofit). The primary function of the hyphen now is to indicate the interdependence of words that modify a noun, and many writers remain confused about or ignorant of their application in phrasal adjectives. The following sentences illustrate the types of errors that often occur. 1. That’s a totally played out joke we’ve seen a million times before. Unless two or more words that modify a noun constitute a standing phrase (such as â€Å"real estate† in â€Å"My sister is a real estate agent†), those words should be linked with one or more hyphens: â€Å"That’s a totally played-out joke we’ve seen a million times before.† (This strategy eliminates the possibility that readers will be confused about the meaning of the sentence, asking themselves, â€Å"How is an out joke played?†) 2. Police are seeking stun-gun wielding bandits who robbed beer from a convenience store. When one of the elements of a phrasal adjective itself is an open compound, as in â€Å"stun gun† here, writers sometimes correctly link the words in that compound but neglect to include one between that noun turned adjective and the adjective itself, an omission rectified here: â€Å"Police are seeking stun-gun-wielding bandits who robbed beer from a convenience store.† (Again, this form clarifies that the last two words in the phrase â€Å"stun-gun-wielding bandits† do not constitute a noun phrase; the sentence is not about the stun-gun subtype of a criminal called a wielding bandit.) 3. During this time, he started developing his man of action persona. Phrasal adjectives of the noun-preposition-noun form follow the same rule: â€Å"During this time, he started developing his man-of-action persona.† (This style compartmentalizes â€Å"man of action† into a single idea to aid in quick comprehension.) 4. He was signed to a $10 million a year contract. When a reference to a large amount of money modifies a noun, the number and the order of magnitude are not hyphenated (â€Å"$10 million contract†). However, the value â€Å"$10 million† is part of a phrasal adjective here, so it and the other two elements (a and year) must be linked: â€Å"He was signed to a $10 million-a-year contract.† 5. His resurrection came with unintended consequences, as is always the case in this sort of it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature morality tale. When an extended phrasal adjective that consists of a stock statement, as above, is not formatted as a modifying phrase, it cannot easily be identified as such until the reader reaches the end of the sentence, creating a significant obstacle to narrative flow. So that the sentence need not be reread for comprehension, unify the entire phrase: â€Å"His resurrection came with unintended consequences, as is always the case in this sort of it’s-not-nice-to-fool-Mother-Nature morality tale.† In this case, however, because the phrasal adjective consists of a quoted saying, it is easier on the eye to simply frame the statement in quotation marks: â€Å"His resurrection came with unintended consequences, as is always the case in this sort of ‘It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature’ morality tale. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Meaning of "To a T"Peace of Mind and A Piece of One's MindQuiet or Quite?

Magical Realism Symbolism Essays

Magical Realism Symbolism Essays Magical Realism Symbolism Paper Magical Realism Symbolism Paper Essay Topic: A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Magical Realism and Symbolism In literary works, to aim for a successful story the writers say as much as possible in a nutshell. They use three available resources which are symbol, allegory, and fantasy. In literature an allegory Is spontaneous and its a world of symbols. This literary device Is a story that has a deeper and more general meaning In addition to Its surface meaning providing a bundle of characters. Objects, or events with added significance. A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquee is a Tory that combines imagination with events that we live everyday. This fable keeps the reader waiting to find out the real meaning behind the old mans visit. It is a blue world when Appeal finds an old man with large, damaged wings stuck in the mud. This strange visitor owns a pair of wings and speaks a weird dialect, no one knows for sure who or what he Is. Garcia Marquezs short story displays the truth about us and society as a whole by comparing and contrasting two of the most noticeable and important symbols which are the title character, the Old Man, which is a symbol of scarification and the Spider-Girl, which symbolizes acceptance. The reactions from the people of the town toward the physical appearance of a strange creature with a bald skull, just a few teeth in his mouth and enormous and dirty wings like a rare angel, shows how people are very prejudiced to differences of other Individuals. They viewed the Old Man as an odd figure Just by looking at his outer shell. Despite the fact he has a great asset of an angel with those wings the Old Man is treated mass if he werent a supernatural creature but a circus animal. (270) The people didnt understand his dialect and Just because he was old, dirty and his wings distorted he was considered frail to be an angel. Father Kananga said, He had an unbearable smell of the outdoors, the back side of his wings was strewn with parasites and his main feathers had been mistreated by terrestrial winds, and nothing about him measured up to the proud diddling of angels. (271) Since, angels are usually depicted as beautiful, young, and clean and the Old Man didnt persist these qualities he was considered an illicit angel and therefore mistreated by his appearance. The man with enormous wings demonstrates noble characteristics that qualify him as an angel. This noble man never turned to them with violence in response to how they treated him, on the contrary he brings them good fortune. This clearly shows discrimi nation because the wings the old man carried made him uniquely different and this was the justification for the people treating him with such cruelty. The story says, With the money they saved they built a two-story mansion with balconies and gardens and high netting so the crabs wouldnt get in during the inter, and with iron bars on the window so the angel wouldnt get in. (273) The company of the angel deeply changed Appeal, Lessened, and their sons way of life. I nee went Trot Dealing relatively poor to Dealing people AT great wealth contradiction, they did not do anything for the angel to thank him and Just left him in the chicken coop like an animal. Along with these two people, the towns people didnt see the inner shell of this creature and Just based their characteristics on his overall The Spider-Girl is accepted by the people because she was understood by the people. Even though this womans physical appearance seems to include none in association with angels, on the contrary shes a, A frightful tarantula the size of a ram and with the head of a sad maiden. (273) She is treated with much more respect than the Old Man. A spider is usually depicted as large, hairy, ugly, and scary and yet she is given the chance to be accepted by the towns people by intriguing them with stories and showing her real self. The Spider-Girl, who is a symbol of acceptance and is a clear contrast of the Old Man. Her story of disobeying her parents by going dancing and for violating their ales and being struck by lighting and changed into a giant ugly tarantula is the key for acceptance. Her admission price is much more lower than that of the Old Man and she speaks to her visitors explaining the reason behind her appearance. Since her story is easy to understand and her explanation is a clear moral, the people believe her and accept her. In contrast, the Old Man does nothing to explain the reason behind his appearance, doesnt entertain people the way the Spider-Girl does, and instead his miracles are drawn as practical Jokes. It seems to be a public acceptance of supernatural explanations for such simple standards. In literary works, allegories help the reader add to the point that the author is trying to make. For example, abstract qualities are shown through both characters, the Old Man and the Spider-Girl and this helps personify the characters and it helps relate the world today with the whole race issue. It assists in classifying the roles of a personal quality and trait by leading clues for the reader to follow the deeper meaning. Using allegories in a piece of fiction makes the writing more interesting and unique and keeps the readers challenged. Garcia