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grammar

Up To Date Vs. Up-To-Date

I was just wondering when or if it is more appropriate to use hyphens when writing “up to date”. In my quick research I found this:

Re: up to date vs. up-to-date

The rule is the same as for most other compounds like this. It depends on the function in the sentence. If it is an adjective, the hyphens are preferred: up-to-date fashions, up-to-date immunizations, etc.

If the phrase follows a linking (copulative verb), the hyphens are not needed.

The immunizations were up to date.
Her fashion sense required that she always be dressed in clothes that were up to date.

Just thought I would help the world out by posting that. I guess you are now up to date on hyphen usage because of my up-to-date tip.

14 replies on “Up To Date Vs. Up-To-Date”

Thank you for the advice. It’s what I do instinctively, but it was helpful to have an explanation of the grammar behind it. I admit I’d never heard of copulative verbs before. They sound a bit risqué!

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