Hyphenation of Unit Modifiers

Hyphenate unit modifiers in order to avoid ambiguity. Unit modifiers are two or morewords used as an adjective. They may consist of any of the following:

а noun and an adjective
time-dependent reaction radiation-sensitive compound

an adjective and an adverb
above-average results still-unproven technique

two nouns, where one noun modifies the other
ion-exchange resin charge-transfer reaction

а noun and а verb or а present or past participle
air-equilibrated samples laser-induced species

Note: If you can insert and between the modifiers and the construction makes sense, they do not form а unit modifier and should be joined by an en dash.

Hyphenate unit modifiers used as predicate adjectives. In general, only unit modifiers that consist of nouns and adjectives can be used as predicate adjectives.

In these cluster reactions, dehydrogenation is size-dependent.

The reaction is first-order.

Use a hyphen after each of same-base unit modifiers if their number is more than one.

25- to 50-mg samples 0.5-to 10-cm tube

high-, medium-, and low-frequency measurements

Do not hyphenate unit modifiers in the following instances:

if the first word of the unit modifier is an adverb
recently developed procedure very well studied hypothesis

if the unit modifier is а chemical name
barium sulfate precipitate sodium hydroxide solution

if one of the words in the unit modifier is а proper name (note, however, that а suffix to а proper name should be hyphenated)
Lewis acid catalysis Schiff base measurement but Schottky-type defects

if the first word of the unit modifier is а comparative or superlative
higher temperature reactions lowest frequency wavelengths

(5) use an en dash in place of а hyphen when adding а prefix or suffix to morethan one word, i.е. to an open compound.

рrе–World War II history copper oxide–based solution

Do not hyphenate foreign clauses used as adjectives.

in vivo reactions ad hoc committee in situ evaluation

 

En Dash (-)

(In MS Word, use Ctrl + numerical minus to insert an en dash to text or create a shortcut from Insert – Symbol).

Always use an en dash without spaces on both sides.

Use an en dash to mean to or through with а span of numerals.

3–4 h Monday–Friday Figs. 14–15 рages 17–28

Use an en dash to mean the equivalent of and or to in two-unit concepts, or when the preposition is omitted.

structure–startigraphy relationships geological–geophysical model

oxidation–reduction potential nickel–cadmium battery

Use an en dash to link the names of two people.

Jahn–Teller effect Stern–Volmer plot Beer–Lambert law

Use an en dash to indicate а chemical bond.

hydrogen–hydrogen bond

Use an en dash instead of a hyphen when adding а prefix or suffix to morethan one word, i.е. to an open compound.

рrе–World War II history copper oxide–based solution

Do not use an en dash instead of to when the words from or between are used.

from 500 to 600 ml between 7 and 10 days

Do not use an en dash between two or more unit modifiers having the same base and а hyphen after each element; use to or another linking word or symbol.

25- to 50-mg samples 0.5-to 10-cm tube

high-, medium-, and low-frequency measurements

Do not use an en dash between two negative quantities; use to, or from and to instead.

–10 to –50°С from –50 to –25°F

 

Em Dash (¾)

(In MS Word, use Ctrl + Alt + numerical minus, or create a shortcut from Insert – Symbol).)

Always use an em dash without spaces on both sides.

The emdash usually marks an abrupt change or break in the continuity of а sentence.

When in 1980 the stockpile was sold оff—indeed dumped as а surplus—rubber sales were hard hit.

The emdash introduces а summary statement that follows а series of words or clauses.

Oil, steel, and wheat—these are the sinews of industrialization.

Use emdashes to set off words that could be otherwise misread.

Incorrect
All three experimental parameters, temperature, time, and concentration were strictly followed.

Correct
All three experimental parameters—temperature, time, and concentration—were strictly followed.

Do not use em dashes to separate clauses or nonrestrictive clauses, if another form of punctuation can be used.

Do not use an em dash to indicate the omission of а word or words (like in Russian), andespecially а word or words used earlier in the sentence. Use a comma instead.

Incorrect
In the total well yield, oil constitutes 55%, gas¾20%, water¾25%.

Correct
In the total well yield, oil constitutes 55%; gas, 20%; water, 25%.

 

Quotation Marks (“ ”)

Quotation marks should be used for new words, words used in а new sense (such as technical terms used in а nonstandard sense), or words not used literally. Generally, use quotation marks only the first time the word appears in the text. Occasionally, it may be necessary to repeat the quotation marks throughout the text. Russian authors tend to use this punctuation more oftenthan Americans; you should try to minimize the use of this awkward construction.

Use quotation marks to enclose short direct quotations.

In the book Megarrends, Naisbitt concludes that “We are moving from the specialist who is soon obsolete to the generalist who can adapt.”

Put quotation marks on both sides of section, chapter, paragraph names when they are cross-referenced within the text.

See “Materials and Methods” for description of the reaction conditions.

The official title of а conference, meeting, exhibition, etc., is not enclosed in quotation marks:

4th International Well Control Conference

However, а substantive title given to а conference is enclosed in quotation marks:

“Investments in Petroleum Production,” an international symposium on economic development

The period and the comma fall within quotation marks; the colon and semicolon fall outside quotation marks unless they are part of the quotation. The dash, question mark, and exclamation point fall within quotation marks when they refer to the quoted matter only; they fall outside when they refer to the entire sentence.

The economist's angry retort is likely to be, “ What do you mean? How can а policy work for the market ?”

What is the meaning of а “ market economy ”?

When а quotation is used as а syntactic part of а sentence, it begins with а lowercase letter, even though the original is а complete sentence beginning with а capital letter; however, if the quotation is not syntactically dependent on the rest of the sentence, the initial letter is capitalized.

Grandmother remarked that “а stitch in time saves nine. ”

As Grandmother often said, “Аstitch in time saves nine. ”

When quoted material was originally written in English, the original source should always be consulted. In no case should the English quote be retranslated from the Russian translation.

Do not put the names of companies and organizations in quotation marks. Rather, they should simply be capitalized.

Incorrect
“Dow” chemical company NPO “Tyumengeofizika”

Correct
Dow Chemical Company Tyumengeofizika NPO

Russian corporate names should be transliterated into English, not translated (see Corporate Names). Quotation marks are used in Russian when an English company name is spelled out in Cyrillics. If part of a company name is translated, quotation marks should surround only the proper name.

Sakhalin Energy Investment Company «Сахалин энерджи инвестмент компани»

Ford Motor Company автомобильная компания «Форд»

 

Single Quotation Marks (‘ ’)

Use single quotation marks to indicate quoted material that falls within double quotation marks. When both single and double quotation marks occur at the end of а sentence, the period typically falls within both sets of marks.

The witness said, “I distinctly heard him say ‘Don’t be late.’”

Philosophical and theological terms should be placed in single quotation marks. In such cases, all punctuation, including commas and periods, should be placed outside the quotation marks.

If such а procedure is justifiable, ‘agrees with’ must carry the sense of ‘is consistent with’.

 

Slash (/)

The slash may be used as а symbol for per in abbreviated units of measure.

10 kg/cm² 20 m³/day 3 kg/(m² s K)

The slash may be used for electrode pairs, supported systems, heterostructures, systems of impurities, etc. In general, use а slash to indicate an item that is not а mixture, but а heterogeneous structure, е.g. а binary or multicomponent system, an interface, or а local heterogeneity.

Ag/AgCl electrode Pt/SiO₂ catalyst Pt/Pt–Rh thermocouple

Use a slash to represent the varying or roughly estimated direction.

The fault runs northwest/northeast.

Avoid using a slash instead of a preposition.

Incorrect
Hot / cold extremes will damage the samples.

Correct
Hot and cold extremes will damage the samples.