Question

Which sentence uses correct hyphenation? the ex senator gave a speech at our school. the reddish-purple wall was ready to be repainted. please include a self addressed stamped-envelope. we went out to the all-night-diner to have coffee?

Answer 1

The reddish-purple wall was ready to be repainted

Answer 2

The sentence that uses correct hyphenation is the one that reads as follows: "The reddish-purple wall was ready to be repainted". Two or more words that come before a noun, modify it and act as a single idea should be hyphenated. These words are called compound adjectives. In this case, reddish-purple is a single idea because both words refer to one colour in particular: It is neither purple nor red, but purple which comes close to red.