One of the problems with grammar is that words and their usage can change.
Hyphenation
There are two types of hyphenated words:
1. Those that are double-barrelled because it is their normal spelling.
2. Those that become double-barrelled only when they directly describe an object or person.
For example, these words are always double-barrelled:
by-line – The publisher checked the author’s by-line.
jack-of-all-trades – He is a jack-of-all-trades.
dry-clean – The girl picked up her dry-cleaned clothes after work.
cold blooded – They were attacked by a cold-blooded shark.
And these change according to useage:
| take you through it step by step | a step-by-step approach |
| it has a hairy back | a hairy-backed creature |
| has blue frames | blue-framed windows |
The Word “That”
Many people prefer to remove the word “that” from their work. However, sometimes the word is required for clarification.
Example: John said yesterday, he had an accident.
In the example, the sentence implies that John made a comment yesterday about having an accident. But the next sentence shows what was actually meant.
John said that yesterday, he had an accident.