of the hyphen. However, there
are two rules which always hold good: (1). The hyphen is used to
separate compound adjectives; (2). The hyphen is used to show, at the
end of a line, that a word has been divided. (Such a word must be
divided between syllables.) In other cases, when you cannot decide
whether or not to use a hyphen, consult the dictionary used in your
school. It is much less frequently used than formerly.

RULES FOR SPELLING

=I. Formation of Possessives=

1. The following list is made up of words in the singular number. To
form the possessive, add an apostrophe and "s."

horse's head
man's coat
girl's dress
boy's shoes
soldier's uniform
child's laugh
sheep's wool
sister's hat

2. The following list is made up of plural nouns that do not end in
"s." To form the possessive, add an apostrophe and "s."

children's clothes
men's shirts
women's praise
gentlemen's plans

3. The following list is made up of plural nouns ending in "s."

To form the possessive, add only an apostrophe.

miles' walk
girls' clothing
years' word
pupils' attention

=II. Treatment of the final consonant before a suffix=

1. The following list contains words of one syllable. Notice that each
word ends in a consonant, and that in every word there is a single
short vowel preceding it. In all such words, the final consonant is
doubled before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.

big--bigg (er) (est)
drop--dropp(ed) (ing)
stop--stopp(ed) (ing)
plan--plann(ed) (ing)
begin--beginn(er) (ing)

2. The following list contains verbs of more than one syllable. Each
verb is accented on the last syllable, and ends in a single consonant
preceded by a single short vowel. In such verbs, the final consonant
is doubled before a suffix beginning with a vowel.

beginn(ing)
referr(ed) (ing)
occurr(ed)
forgott(en)
remitt(ance)

=III. Adding suffixes to words ending in "e"=

1. A word ending in silent "e" drops the "e" before a vowel, as:

come--coming
hope--hoping
serve--serving
appreciate--appreciating
vote--voting

2. When a suffix beginning with a consonant is added to a word ending
in "e," the "e" is kept.

announce--announce-ment
hope--hope-ful
late--late-ly
care--care-less
lone--lone-some

3. "E" is retained to keep the soft sound of "c" and "g" before "a"
and "o" as in notice--notice-able, and advantage--advantage-ous.

=Exceptions