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I understand that when "long-lasting" is used as a compound adjective before a noun, it is always hyphenated, as in example 1:

  1. A long-lasting transformation.

However, I would like to know if a hyphen is needed when it is used after a verb as in example 2:

  1. The transformation was [long-lasting / long lasting].

According to the rule on attribute adjectives and predicative adjectives, no hyphen is needed in example 2. However, I wonder whether "long-lasting" might be an exception, because I have seen that, for example, some newspapers always hyphenate it after a verb.

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    If it's a compound adjective, which it clearly is, it should be hyphenated. Without the hyphen it ceases to be a compound word and becomes a syntactic construction, which is not the case here. – BillJ Jan 26 '23 at 15:51
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    Does this answer your question? Are words like "well-known" spelled with a hyphen in dictionaries? – FumbleFingers Jan 26 '23 at 18:10
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    A compound word is a single word, so it cannot be written as two separate words. Note also that compound words consist not of two 'words' but of two 'bases'. Other indisputable similar compound adjectives (consisting of adj + gerund-participle) include "long-suffering", "hard-working" and "strange-looking". – BillJ Jan 26 '23 at 18:26
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    According to Collins, "long lasting" is also acceptable https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/long-lasting –  Jan 28 '23 at 11:36

3 Answers3

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You'll find it both hyphenated and unhyphenated, depending on who's writing it. When I searched in COCA for long lasting . and long-lasting ., there were a significant number of hits for both, with 58 for the one without the hyphen and 96 for the one with.

Unlike some other compounds, there's no ambiguity for a hyphen to resolve with "long-lasting". Compare "her reply was thought-provoking" and "her reply was thought [to be] provoking" where there is ambiguity.

It's really a matter of style. Here's what the Chicago Manual of Style 14th Edition says (quoted from a relevant ELU answer):

6.40: Where the compound adjective follows the noun it modifies, there is usually little to no risk of ambiguity or hesitation, and the hyphen may be safely omitted. [There are, of course, exceptions to this, as in "her reply was thought provoking."]

APA rules similarly.

In contrast, MLA says:

We hyphen certain adjective compounds in both attributive and predicate positions. More specifically, we hyphen in both positions an adjective compound formed from a noun or an adjective that is in syntactic relation to a participle or an adjective. For example:

  • His loyalty, though fear-inspired, was unswerving.
  • His politics were communist-oriented.
  • With hundreds of acres, they were land-rich but poverty-stricken.
Laurel
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    This is a good answer. Hyphenation of compound adjectives after the noun is, generally, a matter of style. Your answer is thought provoking. – Michael Harvey Jan 28 '23 at 13:19
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    I may be lost here but I was taught that predicative compound adjectives NEVER use a hyphen. –  Jan 28 '23 at 13:30
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    @rajesun - it's a matter of style. Leaners or native-speaking schoolchildren are often taught that they must 'never' or 'always' do something and then find out later that the truth is more complicated. – Michael Harvey Jan 28 '23 at 15:03
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    @MichaelHarvey Judging from the downvotes, my answer was also thought [to be] provoking. – Laurel Jan 28 '23 at 15:42
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    @christianjackson Professional writers pick one style guide and stick to it so they can (hopefully!) have consistency. There is no ambiguity with "x is long lasting" so it will be understood no matter how you hyphenate it. (See edit.) – Laurel Jan 28 '23 at 15:42
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    @Laurel - Thank you for your nuanced answer. It looks like I can follow 2 paths: hyphenation or no hyphenation of "long lasting" after a verb. What would you say is the most common path? –  Jan 29 '23 at 08:53
  • The thing is that established compound adjectives are always hyphenated, even when they follow a noun. The question is, is "long-lasting" one such word? My answer is yes, because it has a dictionary entry. Thus, avoiding hyphenation after a noun is not optional for "long-standing", as the comments below the question also seem to suggest. –  Jan 29 '23 at 09:03
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    @rajesun - your 'always' seems to be some kind of rule that you were taught; other rules are possible, e.g. Combinations that are hyphenated before nouns should not be hyphenated in the predicate—even if they are hyphenated in the dictionary—when the meaning is clear. She has a part-time job; She works part time. University of Rochester NY USA – Michael Harvey Jan 29 '23 at 10:02
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    @rajesun - you can also find 'longlasting' (one word) in dictionaries, which, by your reasoning, abolishes both a space and a hyphen. – Michael Harvey Jan 30 '23 at 10:30
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Generally, when two or more words come before a noun, modifying it, and act as a single idea, we called the result an attributive compound adjective. These are hyphenated.

Examples:

A red-hot iron bar
Some freshly-baked cakes

When a compound adjective follows a noun, we call it a predicative compound adjective. We can choose not to hyphenate these. To do so is a matter of style, and can be advisable if ambiguity is possible.

The iron bar is red hot.
These cakes are freshly baked.

Hyphens between words (Grammarbook.com)

To hyphenate or not to hyphenate (Editors Group)

Michael Harvey
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Descriptive grammarians would say the adjective 'long-lasting' can be written without the hyphen, while those of us who prescriptively insist on a little more consistency in grammatical logic would say that it can't, or at least shouldn't.

I don't think it matters whether it appears before a noun or after a verb, though there is theoretically more room for misunderstanding if it's left unhyphenated before the noun.

Compare "two legged mammals" against "two-legged mammals"

Jaime
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