It's not universally accepted as a hard-and-fast rule, but yes, put it in.

Student or Learner
I have the following title in a paper I'm writing: Sovereign State Analogy.
Should there be a hyphen between "Sovereign" and "State"?
Thanks.
It's not universally accepted as a hard-and-fast rule, but yes, put it in.
No hyphen.
One dated use of 'sovereign' is:
"A sovereign remedy for all ills." Notice: no hyphen!
'sovereign' is merely an adjective that can precede any noun it applies to:
'a sovereign, democratic republic'
The hyphen is needed if you wish to avoid confusion. E.g. "big ticket item" could be read as a "ticket item" (noun) that is big, or as an "item" (noun) that is modified by the compound adjective "big ticket."
When we use an adjective and a noun as a single concept, and use that concept as a compound adjective for a second noun, it's far clearer with the hyphen.
Let's not muddy the waters with uses where the hyphen is invaluable. Let's stick to the issue:
Is it Communist State, or Communist-State?
Hmm?
I agree the hyphen is needed.
The compound phrase modifies the noun that follows.
Get-well wishes, part-time student, employee-ownership culture, etc.
I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.
Bookmarks