lesson
Use a hyphen to keep a word clear
1 · Learn
A hyphen can join a prefix to a root, especially when the end of the prefix and the start of the root are vowel letters. In re-enter, re means again and enter begins with e. Co-own means own something together. A hyphen can make those word parts easier to see.
A hyphen can also distinguish meanings: recover can mean get better or get something back, whereas re-cover means cover again. Resign means leave a role; re-sign means sign again. Dictionaries and house styles allow different spellings for some words, such as cooperate/co-operate. Do not add a hyphen to every prefixed word: reread and miscount are normally written without one.
2 · Worked example
'We need to re-cover the chair' means put a new covering on it. 'We hope to recover the chair' can mean get it back. The hyphen is a short linking mark inside the word, not the longer dash used for a break in a sentence.
3 · Your turn
Choose recover or re-cover for putting a fresh cover on a notebook. Choose resign or re-sign for signing a form again. Explain why the hyphen changes what a reader understands.
Check your answer
re-cover; re-sign. The hyphen makes re mean again in these contrasts. Recover and resign are established words with different meanings, so removing the mark can change the message.
4 · Apply your learning
Write two sentence pairs contrasting recover/re-cover and resign/re-sign. Explain each meaning before checking punctuation. Use a current school dictionary for variable forms instead of marking every unhyphenated version wrong.
Adult guidance and safety
Read the supplied text together if needed. Accept well-supported alternative interpretations, not invented evidence. Use wider whole books, poems and plays alongside these short original models; provide specific feedback on writing and revisit spelling over time.
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