Question

Which is correct? Three-fifths of the members agreed on the all-American festival. Three-fifths of the members agreed on the all American festival. Three fifths of the members agreed on the all American festival. Three fifths of the members agreed on the all-American festival.

Answer 1

Hey there!

When spelling out a fraction, you will use a hyphen between the words used for the numerator and the denominator. For example, 2/20 will be written out as two-twentieths. 2/6 will be written out as two-sixths. This eliminates your third and fourth options. 

All-American is an example of a compound adjective. This is used to describe a noun with two words that are combined into one descriptive phrase. Usually, a compound adjective doesn't need a dash if it comes after the noun that it's describing, but because it comes before "festival," putting a dash between "all" and "American" helps it make more sense when read. 

Your answer will be the first option. Hope this helped you out! :-)