Why is it a four-year-old dog but a dog that is four years old?

In front of the noun, the words describe it together and need hyphens to show it. After a linking verb like is, a measurement reads as a normal phrase (four years old, ten miles long), so the hyphens come out.

Does an -ly word ever take a hyphen?

Not when it describes the next word. A highly skilled player, a brightly colored mural. The -ly already tells you it is an adverb, so a hyphen adds nothing.

When does re- take a hyphen?

When the word without a hyphen already means something else. Re-sign means sign again and resign means quit. Re-cover means cover again and recover means get better. Most re- words close up, like rewrite and rebuild.

8th grade hyphens

8th grade hyphens worksheets

At eighth grade the compounds get longer (up-to-date, state-of-the-art) and the student has to decide when to leave the hyphen out: after an -ly word, and when a measurement comes after the noun. The sheet adds -elect, prefixes in front of capital letters and numbers, fractions used as adjectives, and re- words where a hyphen changes the meaning.

Free printable PDF worksheet.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll fix

Write the words in parentheses on the line. Add hyphens only where they belong.

We ate (freshly baked) bread for breakfast.
Fixed: We ate freshly baked bread for breakfast.
My little sister is (four years old) and already reads.
We had a (face to face) meeting with our pen pals at last.

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on an 8th grade sheet

8th grade sheets draw from 55 sentences, 7 to a page. None of these sentences are on 7th grade sheets. 7th grade sheets print 8 to a page.

A few of the sentences, as the answer key corrects them:

The band sold hard-to-find copies of its first album.
The club treasurer had to resign when her family moved to Ohio.
The gallery showed black-and-white photographs of the old mill.

Fix it. Write the words in parentheses on the line. Add hyphens only where they belong. 7 sentences to fix per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Grade 8 is mostly about when not to hyphenate. Give students two rules that every style guide agrees on. An -ly adverb never takes a hyphen after it, because the -ly already shows what it describes. A measurement after the noun drops its hyphens, so the dog is four years old but the four-year-old dog. After that, the re- words are a good closing discussion: re-sign a player and resign from a job are different verbs, and only the hyphen tells them apart on paper.

Watch for: A compound adjective takes a hyphen in front of the noun, not after it. A ten-mile hike, but the hike is ten miles long. An -ly adverb never takes a hyphen after it: a newly built library, a freshly baked loaf. A hyphen is not a dash. The hyphen is short and has no spaces around it, and it joins words. The dash is long and separates parts of a sentence. Only some prefixes take a hyphen. Self-, ex- and all- always do. Most others close up (unusual, midnight), unless a capital letter or a number follows (mid-October, mid-1800s).

Common questions about 8th grade hyphens

Why is it a four-year-old dog but a dog that is four years old?: In front of the noun, the words describe it together and need hyphens to show it. After a linking verb like is, a measurement reads as a normal phrase (four years old, ten miles long), so the hyphens come out.
Does an -ly word ever take a hyphen?: Not when it describes the next word. A highly skilled player, a brightly colored mural. The -ly already tells you it is an adverb, so a hyphen adds nothing.
When does re- take a hyphen?: When the word without a hyphen already means something else. Re-sign means sign again and resign means quit. Re-cover means cover again and recover means get better. Most re- words close up, like rewrite and rebuild.

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Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated September 2026.

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