About separating words at the right margin.

Question

About separating words at the right margin of a page. Is it "good writing", or have rules changed. How would you split the word "health"? Something like hea-lth??? Help!

Answer 1

In English, single syllable words (like health) cannot be hyphenated.

I was just going to ask that, I thought , how can that be ??? thanks babs - 00494d19, May 31, 2011

This is wonderful. It's 4:15 in the morning here and I just woke up feeling a bit sick. And here you are "talking" to me from across the ocean! - babs_irish, May 31, 2011

oh, well, I do hope you are feeling better now, :) It is half past ten , I am going to have breakfast!!! Get better soon! :) - 00494d19, May 31, 2011

Answer 2

If the rules haven't changed they may have become moot. If you write with the onmipresent word processor, it will adjust the kerning (space between letters) to make the word fit and will not usually hyphenate.

Of course, those settings can be turned on/off, but, by default, most word processors do not hyphenate unless told to.

Answer 3

If you look up any word in a dictionary, right after the word as it is spelled, you'll see the word as it is pronounced including broken into syllables. The word can be hyphenated at the syllable breaks. For healthy, it is heal-thy.

The pronunciation guide is not always a good indicator of where to break syllables. For example, healthy is actually health-y, not heal-thy. - gintar77, May 30, 2011

You need to use a dictionary that shows the syllable break up. Dictionary.com does this. - gintar77, May 30, 2011

Answer 4

Health is a single-syllable word. It cannot be split, so far as I know. It will have to be moved to the next line.