Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham, and I'm so glad you've decided to join me for today's lesson on hyphens and ellipsis.

I'm really looking forward to working with you today, and I'm hoping you're going to learn something new and useful in today's lesson.

Let's make a start.

Today's lesson is called hyphens and ellipsis, and it comes from my unit called punctuation.

By the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to use the hyphen for different reasons and be able to use an ellipsis.

Now, we're going to be working today on two pieces of punctuation, the hyphen and the ellipsis, which I'm sure you've seen in lots of books that you've read.

Hyphens are useful because they allow us to avoid some confusion in our writing, as we'll see, and to invent our own interesting adjectives to describe things in our writing.

An ellipsis is great because it allows us to build some tension for our reader and get them really wanting to read on.

So let's see if we can master these two pieces of punctuation together in this lesson.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

My turn, your turn.

Hyphen.

Compound adjective.

And ellipsis.

Well done.

So a hyphen is a punctuation mark that can join two words to make one compound adjective.

A compound adjective is an adjective formed of two hyphenated words.

And a hyphen can also join a prefix to a base word to avoid ambiguity, that means confusion, in meaning or spelling.

And an ellipsis is a punctuation mark that can invite the reader to read on or can increase tension in our writing.

So let's look at our lesson outline.

We're going to start off by looking at hyphens in compound adjectives.

Then we'll move on to looking at how hyphens can create prefixes.

And finally, we'll look at ellipsis.

So, you may have seen dashes used in fiction writing to show parenthesis, which is additional information that could be removed from a sentence.

For example, A noise - a low, echoing growl - came from the dark trees on my left.

We could remove that parenthesis, a low, echoing growl, and the sentence would still make sense.

It would say, a noise came from the dark trees on my left.

And we've put that parenthesis in dashes.

Notice how these dashes have spaces on either side.

A hyphen, which is what we're focusing on in the first part of our lesson, looks similar to a dash but it has no spaces around it and it has very different purposes.

So it might look like this, a pre-existing injury.

Can you see that we've got something which looks a bit like a dash, but doesn't have spaces? We've got three-quarters of the space and a well-known restaurant.

In all these cases, a hyphen is joining two words, like well and known, or parts of words, like pre and existing.

Pre is just a part of a word, isn't it? And existing is a word.

So a hyphen is always joining two words or parts of words, or sometimes three or more, together.

Now, one place where we often see hyphens, and I'm sure you will have seen them before, is in numbers.

And all the numbers from 21 to 99 that are not tens numbers use a hyphen.

For instance, 21, 55, 72 and 99.

Look how the hyphen is joining the two words together.

So the hyphen joins the two words that make up the number with no spaces.

Numbers below 21 don't need a hyphen.

I bet you've spotted why.

They're all one word, 20, 19, 18, 17.

They're all one word, so we don't need a hyphen to join everything together.

And obviously nor do tens numbers, because they're one word as well.

20, 30, 40, 50 there's only one word so we don't have two things to join with our hyphen.

But when we include those numbers 21 to 99 in hundreds numbers, thousands numbers, we keep using the hyphen.

For instance, 241, 3,794, 82,051 it's 82,000, so the number 82 is still there, so we still need that hyphen, and finally, 35,222.

We've used the hyphen whenever we're joining those two words together to make a number from 21 to 99.

So can you spot where we should use the hyphens in these numbers? Pause the video and see if you can put them all in.

Great effort, let's take a look.

Hopefully in A, you went for 344,826.

So 44 and 26 need the hyphen.

For B, we would say 56,297, 56 and 97 need the hyphen.

And in C, it's 99 and 99 that both need a hyphen to join those two words together.

Great job.

Now, another way hyphens are used is to join two words to make a compound adjective.

There's one of our keywords.

So we know that adjectives describe nouns.

We can say things like this, an excellent restaurant, a popular restaurant, a familiar restaurant.

There's just one adjective, but a compound adjective is two or more words joined by hyphens to create an adjective that can be used to describe a noun.

For instance, a well-known restaurant, a recently-opened restaurant, a high-quality restaurant.

So well-known, recently-opened, and high-quality are all compound adjectives.

Can you see they are two words joined with a hyphen, but they make, together, an adjective.

Well-known restaurant, recently-opened restaurant, high-quality restaurant.

And the words joined by the hyphen might not have been adjectives on their own, but together they are a compound adjective.

For instance, if we look at, well and recently, those are usually used as adverbs, but here we've joined them with another word to create a compound adjective, well-known, recently-opened.

Here are some more examples of compound adjectives describing a noun.

We could write, a time-consuming task, a cold-hearted criminal, a high-pitched shriek.

These are all compound adjectives describing a noun.

We could say a well-behaved student, a heart-rending scream, a silver-haired wizard.

And we know these are compound adjectives because we couldn't just put a comma between the two words, we need the hyphen to join them.

So we often see, don't we, an expanded noun phrase with two adjectives, like a small, colourful fish, there, small and colourful would be separated by a comma, wouldn't they? But we couldn't do that in these examples.

Let me show you an example.

If we wrote a silver, haired wizard with a comma, like a normal expanded noun phrase with two adjectives separated by a comma, well, that means a wizard that is silver with hair, that's probably not what we meant.

We meant to say a silver-haired wizard with a compound adjective, with a hyphen, and that would mean a wizard with silver hair, which is probably what we intended to say.

So if you look at all the examples on the screen here, we couldn't separate them with a comma, it wouldn't work.

We couldn't say, a time, comma, consuming task, because what makes it the adjective is joining the two words together to make a compound adjective using that hyphen.

So I wonder if you can match these pairs of words to make a compound adjective using a hyphen.

You should end up with four.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, well done.

Let's take a look.

For A, we would say fast, well done, moving.

For B, it would be bitter-sweet, fantastic.

For C, we would say snow, well done, covered.

And finally, we'd have for D, long-term.

So in each case, we've made a compound adjective using a hyphen.

Great work.

Now I wonder if you can choose a compound adjective from the list on the right to fill the gap in front of each noun, which is the most appropriate compound adjective to describe that noun? Pause the video and have a look.

Well done.

Let's have a go.

So A, we would say the cars engaged in a high-speed chase through the city streets.

For B, we would say, as we stepped onto the rain-soaked pitch, we knew it was going to be a tough match.

For C, there will be far-reaching consequences if we do not care for the environment.

And for D, tiptoeing through the long-forgotten ruins, we scanned the dusty corners for treasure.

Brilliant work matching up those compound adjectives to the nouns they've described.

Well done.

Now, sometimes, three or four words can be joined using hyphens to create a compound adjective to describe a noun.

We've seen just two so far, but it can be three or four.

We could say, an up-to-date map, a down-to-earth woman, an over-the-top party.

There we've got three words joined by hyphens to make a compound adjective, over-the-top party.

We could even do four, an out-of-this-world bargain, a one-of-a-kind opportunity, a state-of-the-art computer.

State-of-the-art is a compound adjective where four words have been joined with hyphens to make the compound adjective that describes that noun.

And you'll often see them when we put the age of someone or something in front of a noun.

Sometimes these use three words, sometimes two.

Let's have a look.

We could say, a 4-year-old boy, we have three words joined by two hyphens, a two-month-old baby, a three-day-old puppy, and here's one with just two, a centuries-old castle.

So that's a common way we see compound adjectives being used with hyphens.

And in all these cases we have made compound adjectives, out-of-this-world is a compound adjective, so is 4-year-old, we've made them using those hyphens.

So where could the hyphens be placed in these sentences? Look carefully for pairs, or three or four words that could be joined with hyphens in each of these sentences.

Have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

In A, we could say, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get an up-to-date view.

So we've got four words and three words joined there with our hyphens.

For B, we would say, 24 and 3-year-old with our hyphens.

And in C, there's just one, three-day-old Guinea pig.

We wouldn't use hyphens for seven years older because that is not working as a compound adjective, it's not describing a noun in that case.

Really well done if you've got those hyphens to make your compound adjectives.

Now we can create our own compound adjectives to describe nouns and this can be a brilliant strategy to use in our narrative and descriptive writing.

We can often put certain words in our compound adjectives to help us, for instance, covered.

So something covered, I could say, blood-covered floor, mud-covered boots, snow-covered hills.

You could think of hundreds of your own.

We often use splattered when something is sprayed across a surface.

I could say paint-splattered walls, mud-splattered car, blood-splattered crime scene.

We often use stained, ink-stained fingers, tea-stained paper, coffee-stained mug.

You could think of way more than that.

I could use ridden, this is a fun one.

I could say flea-ridden hovel, disease-ridden swamp, guilt-ridden conscience.

So you can see, there are endless opportunities when we use compound adjectives to make our own ideas work as hyphenated words using compound adjectives.

And notice the difference between these and our normal expanded noun phrases.

If I said torn, comma, stained paper or chipped, comma, stained mug, those are just expanded noun phrases, and those are great, but they are different, aren't they? From what we see here.

We couldn't put a comma between these two words and make it work in the same way.

We've had to join them with the hyphen to make our compound adjective.

So can you choose an appropriate word to begin each compound adjective in these sentences? And I've given you a list in purple on the right.

So which one would work best in each of these gaps to create our own compound adjectives? Have a go.

Good job, well done.

Let's have a look.

A, I would put, putting on my mud-covered armour, I mentally prepared myself for the long-feared battle.

As we stepped onto the blood-soaked battlefield, we whispered a barely-audible prayer.

My silver-plated sword hung at my side as I strode away from my wind-battered tent.

So can you see how these are gonna be so useful to us in our descriptive writing for adding those interesting details, better adjectives, exciting adjectives, before our nouns? Really good job for getting this.

Now, using a hyphen to create a compound adjective, as we've seen, can also be really helpful in reducing ambiguity or confusion about our meaning.

Let's look at some examples.

Here I wrote this, I saw a man eating tiger.

It's not clear who's eating who.

It looks really like the man is eating the tiger.

What we meant was, I saw a man-eating tiger.

Here's another example.

She spotted a bird eating spider.

It sounds like the bird is eating the spider.

But what you mean is, a bird-eating spider, a spider that is bird-eating.

So in these cases, the hyphen helps us to be clear about who's eating who.

And that's a really useful distinction we need to remember.

Here's some more ideas.

If I wrote this, we have an extra, special surprise.

Well, there I've got an expanded noun phrase.

Extra and special are both adjectives describing the surprise.

So it's an extra surprise and it's a special surprise.

But if I wrote an extra-special surprise that has a slightly different meaning.

If I wrote it was a slow, moving film, I mean it was slow and it was moving, it made me feel lots of emotions, but if I wrote, it was a slow-moving film, I just mean it was very slow to get through its story.

So the compound adjective here makes clear what exactly we're trying to say about the noun.

What exactly is the description we're trying to give? So can you explain the difference in the meaning of these two sentences? He bought an extra, large T-shirt, and, he bought an extra-large T-shirt.

You can see we have one with an expanded noun phrase, extra, large, separated by the comma, and one with a compound adjective, extra-large, joined by the hyphen.

What's the difference in meaning? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Let's see what you thought.

If I have a look at the first one, it says he bought an extra, large T-shirt.

So this means he bought one more T-shirt than he needed, an extra one, and it was in a large size.

So maybe he's bought it as a spare one.

But if I look at the second one, an extra-large T-shirt, he's bought a T-shirt in an extra-large size, but it's not an extra one, it's not a spare one, it's just the one that he needed.

So the difference between those two is quite different, it's quite strong, so it's really important we use those compound adjectives to get to right meaning in our sentence.

So let's try our first task for this lesson.

I'd like you to add all the hyphens that are missing from these sentences.

Here are the sentences.

You're going to look for pairs, or three or four words, that could be joined by hyphens to make our meaning clear and in order to create those compound adjectives.

Pause the video and see if you can add them all in.

Okay, let's have a look.

Here are the sentences with all the hyphens used to create compound adjectives.

We could say, as the man-eating shark jumped from the water, my heart beat a fast-paced rhythm.

Man-eating and fast-paced.

In B, the compound adjectives are rain-splattered and mud-covered.

In C, they would be in-depth and life-threatening.

In D, they'd be narrow-minded and kind-hearted.

In E, it would be 35 and 5-year-old son.

And in F, it would be heart-warming and extra-special.

If you managed to find all those compound adjectives and the numbers, you've done a fantastic job.

Well done.

Okay, let's move on to looking at how hyphens can create prefixes in words.

So another use for hyphens is to add a prefix to the start of a word.

And I'm sure you know that a prefix is a group of letters added to the front of a word to change the meaning.

So we could say pre-existing, self-esteem, re-evaluate, ex-husband, non-stop, co-author, mid-December, anti-social.

Can you see here, we've got a prefix, followed by a hyphen, followed by a root word.

So you've got a prefix, a hyphen, and then the root word.

So we've got pre as the prefix, the hyphen, and then, existing, as our root word.

So these are different from compound adjectives in two ways.

The word that's created is not always an adjective.

It can be a noun, like ex-husband or co-author, both of those are nouns and not adjectives.

And also the prefix is not usually a word at all on its own.

For instance, co, anti, and re, are not words, they are just prefixes.

So we've got some important differences between these words and the compound adjectives we already saw.

Now, some prefixes very often use a hyphen after them.

For instance, ex, we say ex-Prime Minister, ex-wife, ex-boyfriend, each of those with a hyphen.

Also self, self-confidence, self-belief, self-conscious.

And non, non-alcoholic, non-believer, non-fiction.

Post often uses a hyphen as well, post-war, post-lunch, post-Christmas.

Pre does, pre-existing, pre-heated, pre-order.

And we often see a hyphen with co, co-worker, co-own, co-pilot.

But unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules here, we just have to learn when a prefix needs a hyphen.

So can you match the prefixes to the root words that would create the hyphenated word? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, good job.

For A, we would say, non-negotiable.

For B, we would say, self-centered.

For C, we'd say ex-girlfriend.

And for D, we would say, pre-existing.

So we've joined a prefix to a root word using a hyphen.

Really well done.

Now hyphens are often used in prefixes when we would otherwise have a vowel next to another vowel.

Let me show you why.

If we added the prefix, co, to the root word, author, it would look like this, coauthor.

Now that can be tricky to say sometimes or it can look strange in a word.

So we use a hyphen to separate out those two vowels, co-author.

Here's some more examples.

Coown would be co-own with a hyphen.

For re-enter, we use a hyphen 'cause we have two Es next to each other.

For re-evaluate, we'd also have two Es next to each other, so we use a hyphen.

And for antiaircraft, we would use a hyphen between the I and the A.

And in preexisting between those two Es.

Unfortunately, again, this is not always the case.

If we look at extra and ordinary, we write extraordinary with the A and the O next to each other.

And the same is true for coexist.

So again, we are just going to have to learn when this looks right and when it works for our words.

So we've seen that sometimes hyphens are needed and sometimes they're not when we use a prefix.

So which of these sentences use prefixes correctly using a hyphen only when it's needed? Decide which sentences are correct when you pause the video, have a go.

Well done, good effort.

So for A, that one is not correct, we would say, re-enter, with a hyphen.

We had the two Es together, which looks slightly strange, so we've got the hyphen in between.

B is correct though, we've got a hyphen already for anti-aircraft.

C is not correct, we need a hyphen for anti-inflammatory.

We have those two Is next to each other, which definitely looks strange, so we often will need a hyphen there.

And D is correct already, extraordinary does not need a hyphen.

Really well done if you got those.

Now, some pairs of words have the same spelling, but they have a different meaning when we use a hyphen after the prefix.

Let me show you some examples.

If I said, I will resign from my position as team manager, I mean I'm going to resign.

But if I said, he will re-sign for the team when his contract expires, that has a different meaning.

The letters are the same, but we've added a hyphen, after the prefix, re, and the meaning is now complete different.

It means sign again, doesn't it? To re-sign means sign again, to resign means to give up your job.

Here are some more examples.

We will never recover from this disastrous event.

Make sure you re-cover the food when you put it back in the fridge.

She recoiled in horror, that means went back like this, at the sight of the bird-eating spider.

I think I'd do the same.

But I could say, she re-coiled the rope around the mast of the yacht.

We could say, don't repress your feelings, shout them from the rooftops.

If you're repress your feelings, you pushing them down, you're trying not to feel them.

But I could also say, please re-press the button to confirm your selection.

So notice how all of these examples use the prefix, re, and when we have the, re, followed by the hyphen, it means do it again, doesn't it? He will re-sign for the team.

Make sure you re-cover, cover again, the food.

Re-coiled, coil the rope again.

Re-press, press the button again.

So we've got to look carefully at whether we've used a hyphen or not, to think about how the meaning is affected by that difference.

So let's test that out.

I wonder if you can choose the correct word for each gap in these sentences.

You have the words in green on the right.

Recover, re-cover, resign, and re-sign.

Which is the correct one for each sentence? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, good try.

Let's have a look.

For A, we would say, when the manager stole from the team, many people demanded that he resign.

We wouldn't want him to re-sign, to sign again, in those circumstances.

For B, we'd say, please ensure you re-cover the church piano after you finished using it, that means cover again.

For C, we would say, you will need to re-sign this letter because your signature's not visible, that means sign again.

But for D, we'd say, unless we all work together, the community will never recover from this flood.

Now that doesn't mean cover it again, does it? Recovery has a totally different meaning than cover again.

So we really need to not use the hyphen in that instance.

Really well done if you spotted all those.

Okay, let's do our second task for this lesson.

I'm going to show you some words in a moment that you've already seen, and some of them have a prefix attached with a hyphen, and some of them don't have that.

I want you to write a sentence with each word to show the different meanings they create.

So here are the words, we've got repress, which remember, meant push down your feelings, and then re-press, press again.

Resign, give up your job, and re-sign, sign again.

Recover, get better and re-cover, cover again.

So when we've got the prefix attached with the hyphen, we've got a different meaning, and I want you to write some sentences to show that.

Remember, you might want to use another word from the same word family, instead of just this word.

You could say, resigned or resigning, re-signed or re-signing, recovered or recovering, or re-covered or re-covering.

That is totally fine, I just want you to try and show in your sentences the different meanings we have here.

So pause the video and see if you can write your sentences to show the different meaning.

And as ever, see if you can try and use a range of sentence types.

Okay, let's take a look at some example sentences.

Now hopefully your meanings will be the same as mine, but obviously your sentences will look different, and that's fine.

For A, I've said, I know you're angry, but you'll need to repress your emotions for a little while so that we can get this done.

For re-press, I said, you often need to re-press, press again, the red button on the coffee machine so that it will work.

For resign, I've said, the restaurant manager, who had been stealing bread rolls, was forced to resign in disgrace.

For re-sign, I've said, I think we should re-sign that player, even though he chose to leave the club five years ago.

Sign him again.

For recovering, I put, recovering from a near-disastrous mistake, she continued her speech.

That means she got better afterwards.

And then for F, I've said, you will need to re-cover the cake after you've taken a slice.

You will need to cover it again.

So hopefully you've managed to write sentences that show that the meaning is different when we have a prefix attached with a hyphen.

Really good job.

Okay, let's move on to the final part of our lesson.

We're going to look at a different piece of punctuation now, which is ellipsis.

So ellipsis is a punctuation mark that can be used to add suspense.

And it looks like this, three dots, no more, no less.

Here are some examples.

Finally, after many months of trekking through the icy mountains, I glimpsed it.

the summit.

That means the top of the mountain.

I could say, turning a sharp corner, I froze.

the criminal was right in front of me.

I could say, as I opened the oak chest, I gasped.

it was a hoard of treasure.

Can you see that in each case we have a complete sentence before the ellipsis.

For instance, as I opened the oak chest, I gasped.

That makes the reader wonder what's going to happen next.

And then the ellipsis builds that tension up by adding a little pause, which you heard me say, and then the group of words that follow it is the reveal and it tells us what's going on.

So we've got turning a sharp corner, I froze, a complete sentence, the ellipsis adds a pause to add that tension, and then we reveal why I froze, the criminal was right in front of me.

Now, there's not always a reveal after the ellipsis.

Let me show you.

The ellipsis can also be used at the end of a paragraph or a sentence to invite the reader to read on with nothing after it.

We could say, suddenly and without warning, the door creaked open.

I could say, taking a last look at the sunlight, we stepped into the gloomy cave.

I could say, I gazed up at the looming castle and pondered my next move.

And the ellipsis almost gives us a dun, dun, dun, as an ending to our sentence to make the reader think, what on earth is going to happen next? So here's another example.

As we stood up to leave the beach, I gasped in shock.

The tide had come in.

We were trapped.

And you can imagine the, dun, dun, dun, there to think, oh, what on Earth's gonna happen to them now that they're trapped on this beach? So in all these cases, the reader is left thinking, what is about to happen? What's gonna happen after this ellipsis? So this is a great, effective way of closing a paragraph 'cause it makes the reader really want to read the next one to find out what's going to happen.

So where can we place an ellipsis in each of these sentences? Remember, it could go in the middle followed by a reveal, or it could go at the end to make the reader think, what's going to happen? Where would be the best place in each of these sentences? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, let's take a look.

In A, I would put it after, here.

I would say, at that moment I saw it.

a giant, shaggy creature on the edge of the marsh.

For B, I would put it at the end, before I had a chance to move, there came a blood-curdling cry from the trees behind me.

Which is really making our reader think, what on Earth is behind them? What's going to happen now? And then for C, I would put it here, tiptoeing into the dark house, I noticed something on the floor.

a footprint.

So that pause builds up the tension before I reveal the answer, a footprint.

Really well done if you got those in the same position.

So let's do our final task for this lesson.

I want you to imagine you're entering a dark and mysterious cave, like the one in the picture.

I want you to first write a sentence using an ellipsis to build tension as you enter the cave.

So an ellipsis in the middle of your sentence.

And then I want you to write a sentence ending with an ellipsis, to invite the reader to read on.

Now I'm gonna show you some examples for an idea with a dark house.

So I could say, pushing open the door, I froze.

the room was empty.

So there I've used it to build tension in the middle of my sentence.

Here's another example.

As I brushed cobwebs from my face, I spotted it.

the red door that led to the cellar.

So in both of these cases, I have a reveal, don't I? I have a complete sentence, then the ellipsis to build the tension, then the reveal.

But I also want you to write a sentence ending on ellipsis, like this one.

All of a sudden, a loud creak came from the floor above.

And there I've got my dun, dun, dun, at the end to suggest to my reader, what on Earth is gonna happen next, to make them want to know what is making that creak above.

So using the idea of the mysterious, dark cave, let's see if you can write two sentences, one, building the tension, and one, at the end of your sentence with the ellipsis at the end, to invite the reader, to make them want to read on and find out what's happening next.

Pause the video and have a try.

Okay, let's take a look at some example sentences.

I'm gonna show you first ones where we've got the ellipsis in the middle of the sentence to really build that tension.

I could write, then it came again.

an echo from the darkness.

I could write, stepping further in, I noticed marks on the walls.

claw marks.

I could say, the silence was suddenly broken.

by the howl of a wolf.

So in each case I've got a complete sentence followed by the ellipsis to build that tension and then the reveal of what it is that I've been worried about, what it is that we've seen before.

Now here's some examples that use the ellipsis at the end of the sentence to invite the reader to read on, to make them think, what's gonna happen? I could say, glancing back over my shoulder at the outside world.

I stepped sadly into the gloomy cave.

I could say, all of a sudden, I heard footsteps approaching from the darkness.

That makes my reader think, what on Earth are these footsteps? And finally I could say, shuttering with cold, I stopped, sensing a presence in front of me.

So in all those three cases, our reader is thinking, what is this presence? What's gonna happen? What's gonna approach from the darkness? Really well done if you've managed to do something similar, and I hope you find that useful in your writing in the future.

Okay, let's summarise our learning about these new pieces of punctuation in this lesson.

We learned that a hyphen is a punctuation mark that can be used to make a compound adjective that describes a noun, and the hyphen can help to avoid ambiguity in some cases.

We learned that a hyphen can also be used to add a prefix to a root word.

Some words with the same spelling have a different meaning when they include a hyphen for that prefix.

And we learned that an ellipsis is a punctuation mark that can be used to increase tension or to invite the reader to read on.

You've done a fantastic job in this lesson.

Really well done.

I really hope that these hyphens and ellipses are useful to you in adding exciting details and compound adjectives to your writing, and also to build some tension and suspense for your reader.

I'd love to see you again in a future lesson, goodbye.