un-taxed

[Lucretia]

Hello again,
Is the hyphen really necessary here?
The rest of the day is free to do a second job, un-taxed.
Google: un-taxed 1600,000; untaxed 1300,000

Thank you.

[Bridget]

Originally Posted by Lucretia

Hello again,
Is the hyphen really necessary here?
The rest of the day is free to do a second job, un-taxed.
Google: un-taxed 1600,000; untaxed 1300,000

Thank you.

It's been unhyphenated for centuries.

General (6 matching dictionaries)

1. untaxed : Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, 10th Edition [home, info]
2. untaxed : Dictionary.com [home, info]
3. untaxed : Rhymezone [home, info]
4. untaxed : Webster's 1828 Dictionary [home, info]
5. untaxed : WordNet 1.7 Vocabulary Helper [home, info]
6. untaxed : LookWAYup Translating Dictionary/Thesaurus [home, info]

.........

un-taxed

Sorry, no dictionaries indexed in the selected category contain the word un-taxed.


You might try using the wildcards * and ? to find the word you're looking for. For example, use

un-t*to search for words beginning with un-t, or*axedto search for words ending with axed

http://www.englishpage.com/forums/ne...wreply&p=29178

[Lucretia]

Thank you, Bridget.
Then, how come the hyphenated one prevails? Wide-spread illiteracy?

[Artyom]

Compare "un-taxed" and "untaxed" and you'll see real proportion.

[Bridget]

Originally Posted by Lucretia

Thank you, Bridget.
Then, how come the hyphenated one prevails? Wide-spread illiteracy?

Maybe some people need to indicate the emphasis on the "un". After all, we do hear "untaxed" and "UNtaxed". It would be in the second case that we would feel a need to use a hyphen when writing.

[Lucretia]

Well, it's really hard to say why most people prefer the hyphen. I looked up M.Swan; according to what he says there must be no hyphen here.
Perhaps the Google results reflect the ratio of people who know grammar well and badly. It's not surprising after all that the knowledgeable ones are in the minority.

[Bridget]

<Perhaps the Google results reflect the ratio of people who know grammar well and badly.>

What has the use of a hyphen in "untaxed/un-taxed" go to do with grammar?

<It's not surprising after all that the knowledgeable ones are in the minority.>

Or that the majority have found some reason to use the hyphenated form.

[Lucretia]

What has the use of a hyphen in "untaxed/un-taxed" go to do with grammar?

I'm quite puzzled. If hyphenization doesn't concern grammar, then what does it refer to? At least there are rules in M.Swan's grammar book.

[Bridget]

Originally Posted by Lucretia

I'm quite puzzled. If hyphenization doesn't concern grammar, then what does it refer to? At least there are rules in M.Swan's grammar book.

Punctuation, and maybe spelling, IMO.

[Lucretia]

Looks like nitpicking.
IMHO if somebody knows grammar well, they use the language correctly, all its aspects.