Can You End a Sentence With a Hyphenated Word?
Some English grammar rules are lesser known but still essential for polished writing. Avoiding hyphenated words at the end of a sentence is one of them. Most hyphenated words are modifiers, meaning they describe the noun that follows. For example, "They bought a single-family home" uses the hyphenated compound modifier
"single-family" to describe the type of home. In English, modifiers (also known as adjectives) almost always appear before the noun. Now rearrange that example: "The home they bought was single-family." Native English speakers instinctively expect a noun to follow the modifier. Even though nothing is technically missing, it still reads...
