English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
Forms of Compound Words
Some compound words are written together, some are separated and some others are hyphenated. Examples are given for the three classes.
- Written together: whatnot, mailbox, grandmother, railroad, snowball, basketball.
- Written separately: attorney general, peanut butter, Boy Scouts, no one, ice cream, real estate.
- Hyphenated: matter-of-factly, two-fold, check-in, merry-go-round, father-in-law, seventy-two.
Be sure of the form of a compound before using it in your writing.
GAB
