Application of Skills Directions:
Apply the knowledge you have gained from Chapter 25 to answer the following questions.
Which of the following sentences uses the hyphen correctly?
A) My mother in law continues to insist that she is only thirty-three years old.
B) My mother in law continues to insist that she is only thirty three years old.
C) My mother-in-law continues to insist that she is only thirty three years old.
D) My mother-in-law continues to insist that she is only thirty-three years old.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When using a compound modifier (a combination of two or more words that together modify a noun) before a noun, it is hyphenated. In this case, "mother-in-law" is a compound modifier before "continues," so it should be hyphenated. Therefore, the correct sentence is "My mother-in-law continues to insist that she is only thirty-three years old."