Corinna Lines | August 10, 2016
Image by Pixabay / Pexels licence
In words beginning with ‘re’, a hyphen can make a big difference. For example:
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen re-signs
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen resigns
If you miss out the hyphen, suddenly Hansen’s leaving, rather than signing up for another 3 years.
Use a hyphen with ‘re’ when both of these apply:
In the example above, to ‘re-sign’ means to sign again. And if you left the hyphen out, you’d cause confusion with the word ‘resign’. Therefore, use a hyphen.
recover (Rest and fluids help you recover quickly.)
re-cover (I must re-cover the sofa.)
reserve (Let’s reserve a table at the restaurant.)
re-serve (The tennis player will re-serve.)
repress (Don’t repress your emotions.)
re-press (You need to re-press that shirt.)
resent (I resent your accusations.)
re-sent (The email didn’t arrive so it was re-sent.)
relay (I’ll relay your complaints to management.)
re-lay (The contractor will re-lay the carpet.)
Our Great Grammar workshop makes an intimidating subject feel manageable. If you understand the basics of grammar, punctuation, and word use, you can craft great documents. Find out how to fix problems in your writing so it’s professional and easy to read.
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(Last updated: November 2024)