Which do you prefer below? I know that hyphens are used for compound modifiers, but I don't think their omission affects readability. Which, personally, do you support below in each set? Set 1 (1) a ten-pound-five-ounce infant (2) a ten-pound, five-ounce infant (3) a ten-pound five-ounce infant (4) a ten pound, five ounce infant (5) a ten pound five ounce infant Set 2 (1) a six-foot-five-inch man (2) a six-foot, five-inch man (3) a six-foot five-inch man (4) a six foot, five inch man (5) a six foot five inch man And, would we need commas to separate pounds from ounces, and feet from inches? What is your personal preference in each set below—(1) or (2)? Set 3 (1) He is six feet, five inches tall. (2) He is six feet five inches tall. Set 4 (1) The infant weighed ten pounds, five ounces. (2) The infant weighed ten pounds five ounces. Thank you.
Didn't you already post another thread with this exact question? For Sets 3 and 4, I'm fairly certain that using a comma is considered grammatically correct.
Ok, Dillseed, sweetie, please post these kinds of questions in the Word Mechanics subforum. I'm happy to help you - as you have seen - but the General Writing subforum is so OVERUSED that I wrote a blog kvetching about it today.
