A common mistake I see:
"That is a poorly-worded sentence."
In this sentence, you don't need a hyphen. Normally you would use a hyphen to link up words that join up to modify a noun, as in "well-worded sentence," but here you don't need one because the "-ly" in the adverb ("poorly") automatically links up with the next word.
So, hyphens are usually good, but in this case one is not.
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2 comments:
As a copy editor, I see that error all the time. Good one to highlight. I know neither of the following is an adverb, but I like the example of "family-friendly attractions" as a counterpoint to this rule because each is an -ly word, yet the hyphen is acceptable.
I love that I learn something new almost every day. Thank you for this post; you have explained it so that even I can understand how to use adverbs.
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