[Grammar] Hyphens used in numerical ranges

[swansong]

Would you support (without recasting) my hyphenated examples below exactly as written and punctuated for the compound modifiers before the nouns?

• a $4-million-to-$5-million-a-year savings
• a $75,000-to-$80,000-a-year increase in spending
• a 65-to-75-cent-a-week deduction
• a 30-to-40-percent-a-year reduction across the board

And, if we use the % symbol, does this look okay?
• a 30-to-40%-a-year reduction across the board

This is not homework; it is sheer inquisitiveness.

Thank you.

 

[Raymott]

No. It's all wrong. Why do you have a hyphen between '4' and 'million' etc?
If a hyphen is used to mean 'to', you don't write "- to - ", which equates to "30 to to to 40" etc. Use either "30 to 40" or "30 - 40".
There's a dozen or so too many hyphens in your post.

 

[swansong]

Hyphens do not mean "to"; an en dash means "to." Hyphens are used in compound modifiers; en dashes are not.

 

[Raymott]

Hyphens do not mean "to"; an en dash means "to." Hyphens are used in compound modifiers; en dashes are not.

That's true. Many people use hyphens for dashes (though usually leaving a space - as here - , and I was assuming that's what you were doing.
I would write: "a $4 - $5million a year savings." So, I still think there are far to many hyphens. But styles vary, and "a $4 to $5m-a-year savings" would be right in some house styles.

 

[Barb_D]

Let me get to a computer so I'm not trying to write this on my phone.
Your problem is in trying to use the number as a modifier (which takes a hyphen) and a range (which takes the en-dash) at the same time.

Unfortunately with a very long compound modifier, you end up with an unreasonable number of hyphens. You will have to recast or choose between "incorrect" and natural. I put incorrect in quotes because it's style, not grammar.

You will want to learn about suspended hyphens in the meantime.

 

[Raymott]

Hi Barb, I hadn't heard the term "suspended hyphens", but I've them often.
On this page, the author seems to be contradicting herself by using a dash as the first 'hyphen'. Is that common practice?
http://editingandwritingservices.com/suspended-hyphens/

 

[swansong]

Thank you, everybody.

 

[Barb_D]

Hi Barb, I hadn't heard the term "suspended hyphens", but I've them often.
On this page, the author seems to be contradicting herself by using a dash as the first 'hyphen'. Is that common practice?
http://editingandwritingservices.com/suspended-hyphens/

I would attribute that to a typesetting error and the programs that automatically convert the hyphen on the keyboard to en- or em-dashes (did you see what I did there? ;-)) which is extremely unfortunate on a page about the use of punctuation!

 

[Barb_D]

Would you support (without recasting) my hyphenated examples below exactly as written and punctuated for the compound modifiers before the nouns?

• a $4-million-to-$5-million-a-year savings
• a $75,000-to-$80,000-a-year increase in spending
• a 65-to-75-cent-a-week deduction
• a 30-to-40-percent-a-year reduction across the board

And, if we use the % symbol, does this look okay?
• a 30-to-40%-a-year reduction across the board

This is not homework; it is sheer inquisitiveness.

Thank you.

I cannot support not recasting.
You need to NOT use these as modifying phrases if you don't want make a mess.

This comment on the first sentence would be applicable to all, since they all use the same format:
Use the suspenended hyphen: A $4- to $5-million-per-year.
Recast 1: $4–5 million in savings. [note that's an en-dash = Alt+0151 on your keyboard]
Recast 2: A savings of $4—5 million annually.