2

I have an information technology terminology which is "rule". each rule consists of a premise, which is the part before the equal sign, and a conclusion, which is the part after the equal sign. Example:

If temperature is low then the weather is cold.

the premise is "temperature is low", while the conclusion is "weather is cold".

My question

I wrote this:

"temperature is low" is the first rule's premise.

should I use a hyphen ("-") between "first" and "rule"?

Schwale
  • 3,899
  • 2
  • 18
  • 38
Marco Dinatsoli
  • 2,704
  • 12
  • 46
  • 65

1 Answers1

5

Absolutely not.

What we are looking at here, is a simple pair of adjective + noun.

Grammatically speaking the same pattern as:

  • green shoes
  • dusty attic
  • last winter
  • ...

Therefore: No, there is no hyphen. Your phrase remains as:

"Temperature is low" is the first rule's premise.

J.R.
  • 109,547
  • 9
  • 164
  • 291
Stephie
  • 14,309
  • 2
  • 41
  • 58
  • I agree. If the O.P. found that wording awkward for some reason, this alternative could be used instead: "temperature is low" is the premise of the first rule. But there's nothing wrong with the original, and, as you say, it should not be hyphenated. – J.R. Dec 29 '14 at 11:48