Hyphens

[Elina Loyet]

Is this hyphen incorrect or can it be accepted?

"I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it was very well-edited."

[AmySmiles]

In the context of your sentence, the hyphen isn't strictly grammatically wrong, but it's generally not needed. "Well edited" is commonly written as two separate words. Hyphens are often used in compound adjectives before a noun (e.g., "a well-edited book"), but in your sentence, "well edited" functions as a complement rather than a modifier before a noun.

So, while using the hyphen isn't incorrect, it's more standard to write it without one.

[Alys Sterk]

That sentence is correct. Words with well- can be hyphenated even though they're not modifying a noun. The use of a hyphen or not is optional.

Correct:
The book is well edited.
The book is well-edited.

Correct:
The well-edited book was popular.
Incorrect:
The well edited book was popular.