Students learn by trial and error.
Students learn by trial-and-error.
Should "trial and error" be hyphenated or not in the above sentence? What is the rule here? I have seen both usages.
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3I would only use hyphens when treating the phrase as an adjective - 'a trial-and-error method'. – Kate Bunting Sep 24 '23 at 08:32
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1@KateBunting - many would say further that we only employ hyphens if that compound adjective is used before a noun, e.g. We found the solution by a trial-and-error method. – Michael Harvey Sep 24 '23 at 09:07
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No. It would only be an adjective if you said 'by trial-and-error methods'. – Kate Bunting Sep 25 '23 at 07:57
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- You use "trial-and-error" when it functions as an adjective: a trial-and-error method
- In other cases you use "trial and error": by trial and error.
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1If you spot a spelling mistake, edit to fix the mistake. That's better than editing to say that there is a mistake. – James K Sep 24 '23 at 15:55