![]() ![]() These are called phrasal verbs, by the way - verbs of more than one word, usually a plain verb plus a preposition, in which the added word significantly changes the meaning. To talk about a person’s personality makeup or her application of lipstick and mascara is to use the noun form. To make something up is to use the verb form. Poorly articulated as such an explanation would be, it’s right. ![]() You’re talking about making something up.” The user might explain his choice like this: “You’re not talking about something’s makeup. People who’ve never spent a second pondering this stuff seem to know instinctively that “make up” works better in that sentence. Here’s an example: “Engineers and programmers makeup the bulk of the association’s membership.”įascinatingly, very few native English speakers would make that mistake. News media prefer just one comma in “red, white and blue,” book and magazine publishing usually prefers two: “red, white, and blue.” Both are correct in their respective editing styles.īut when it comes to the “one word, two words or hyphenated” conundrum, it’s possible to mess up. MORE: Read past columns on all things grammar from June Casagrande > Different dictionaries, different publications and different industries do things different ways. If you need a quick refresher, you can always reread this article whenever you feel the need.Health care, healthcare or health-care? Make up, makeup or make-up? Water ski, water-ski or waterski? Cell phone, cellphone or cell-phone?Ī lot of questions posed in this column elicit the answer: There’s no right answer. The hyphen, which also appears in other hyphenated adjectives like sixteen-year-old and shabby-looking, is your clue that sign-up is an adjective. Proper punctuation dictates that the nonhyphenated sign up is only used as a verb, and the hyphenated sign-up is only used as an adjective. Neither sign up not sign-up appears as one word.Sign-up (hyphenated) is a noun or an adjective.Here are three easy things to remember about sign-up vs. Is it sign up or sign-up? Both of these words have all the same letters, but their punctuation turns them into different parts of speech. The hyphen in this word thus becomes your clue that it forms an adjective. Sign-up functions as a noun or an adjectiveĪs a reminder that sign-up is the adjective form, remember that many other hyphenated adjectives exist, like wine-soaked, front-loaded, and burger-munching. ![]() Trick to Remember the DifferenceĬhoosing between sign up and sign-up is simple since they are different parts of speech. In accordance with AP Style, you should never see sign-up spelled as one word signup. Is sign-up one word or two? When used as a noun or adjective, sign-up always appears as a hyphenated word. “This job comes with a $500 sign-up bonus,” observed Caitlyn as she browsed postings online.Amanda lost the sign-up sheet, so we have no idea who will bring dessert to this month’s employee birthday party.Open enrollment in the company retirement plan is handled through an online sign-up form available from Nov.– The Andalusia Star-NewsĪs an adjective, sign-up modifies a noun, usually an object used for registering for things.įor example, a resume workshop might have a sign-up sheet in the student lounge, or a website might have a sign-up page for its email list. Thomasson said that he wanted residents to know that the sign-up was for all people in the Sanford community, not just those who live in the town limits.Signs-ups for student clubs are being held in the gymnasium.Soccer sign-ups close at the end of the day.What does sign-up mean? Sign-up is used as a noun and an adjective. Is sign up one word or two? When used as a phrasal verb, sign up is always spelled out as two words. The cellphone carrier announced Wednesday that it will throw in a subscription to HBO for free if you sign up for Unlimited Plus, AT&T’s top-tier unlimited data plan.John wants to sign up for his employer’s ethics committee, but he would feel hypocritical, as he has embezzled millions of dollars from the company. ![]()
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