Hyphenation rules in the English language can be painful for those who like one clear template to follow. There is variation in regional and historical use (copyediting, copy editing, and copy-editing are all currently in use), in style guide preference, and of course sentence placement and meaning (think healthcare, health care, health-care). They can also change over time (web site, web-site, website). I follow the guidelines set out by the Chicago Manual of Style and the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, and when in doubt, will check against their long list of hyphenated and not-hyphenated compounds. Here are some basic rules that you should know, and follow.
A hyphen (-) is a punctuation that combines two or more words.
A compound adjective is when you join two or more words together with a hyphen, in order to modify a noun or a pronoun. The hyphen is necessary for clarity when the compound is in front of the noun or pronoun. It is not necessary if the compound is after the noun.
When should you hyphenate a compound adjective?
You should hyphenate the compound adjective when you clearly need to show that the two words go together.
I saw a man eating shark today.
I saw a man-eating shark today.
You could be at a fancy restaurant observing dining choices, or you could be at a beach having a scary moment. The hyphen is crucial to telling you how to read the sentence.
Usually, compounds that follow a noun do not require the same clarifying hyphen.
He is an award-winning musician.
As a musician, he is award winning/has won awards.
She is a well-known author.
As an author, she is well known.
Some words don’t follow the same basic rules, and always require hyphenation. Free is a modifier that always takes a hyphen, regardless of where it is in the sentence.
The snack was sugar-free.
The sugar-free snack was tasty.
When should you not hyphenate?
You do not need a hyphen when you are using a comparative (better) or superlative (best) modifier, or when the compound modifier includes an adverb ending in (-ly).
So, the best prepared student, or the better executed program.
And, the carefully edited manuscript, or the globally renowned scientist.
The adverb (ly) modifier is one of the most common overuses of hyphenation that I see as an editor. Just think, the -ly ending is already indicating the modification; adding a hyphen is unnecessary. We want to keep our writing as clean and clutter-free as possible.
Purdue University’s Writing Centre has a useful guide to the most common hyphenation rules:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/punctuation/hyphen_use.html
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