-hyphens-

[talkintree]

Hyphens
Well, here is a tip

Example:
The 12-year-old girl likes only pepporoni on her pizza

Example:
The girl was 12 years old.

The reason why you use hyphens in the first example is because 12 year and old all connect quickly. They link together when they are used right before a noun.

In the second example, there is no hyphens because they are placed AFTER the noun and do not link.

I am horrible at explaining this. Can anyone else explain it better?
I really need my grammar book. xd


Here is a site to help you:

Check this out!  

[Ame Yuki Kaze]

Thanks for the info. I must admit, I'm lazy about my hyphens. I generally just write "16 year old" and don't bother with them. *ducks flying projectiles*  

[Ithaya]

I overuse hyphens on MSN.

But I usually just guess where to put them.

On that example, the major difference is the non-hyphenated one has a plural for 'years'.