Hyphen
Hyphen is a sign used for joining parts of a compound word.
brother-in-law, co-operate, set-up
Can the National Security Council co-ordinate the working of the
government departments?
1. Hyphen is very properly put between two words when they function as
an adjective before a noun or when the two (or more) words are compounded into
an adjective.
We went into the government-controlled factory.
The on-the-spot advice of the minister during his inspection tour was highly
useful.
The behind-the-scenes decisions of some worthless rulers....
2. When the first word of the compound is an adverb and it ends in ly
or when the compound adjective comes after the noun, we do not use hyphen.
They were poverty stricken in their childhood. (The poverty-stricken
children...)
Badly managed schools but well-managed institutions.
3. Hyphen is also used beautifully to separate the letters of words
for a special effect.
Keep quite, or you will upset the a-n-g-r-y and m-a-d man.
"Who says I am ang-ry and m-a-d man?"