Learning Map
EnglishGrammar & Punctuationusually ages 10–11

Hyphens in Prefixed Words

Use hyphens to avoid ambiguity in compound modifiers and prefixed words, distinguishing between meanings that change based on hyphen placement

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

🖨 Print this page to keep the checklist — it prints beautifully.

Try this together

Can your child explain why "a man-eating shark" and "a man eating shark" mean completely different things — and use a hyphen correctly in their own writing to avoid that kind of confusion?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on
Compound Wordsages 5–8Using hyphens in compound modifiers builds on understanding how two component words can combine to create a single compound word
Expanded noun phrasesages 6–7Hyphens in compound modifiers builds on expanded noun phrases
Hyphens in Prefixed Wordsthis skill · ages 10–11
Unlocks
Nothing on the map depends on this yet.

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 1 NSW

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

This skill sits outside the F–6 Australian Curriculum — no candidate code matched (v0.1).

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

EN2-SPELL-01low confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 2

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Active and passive voiceages 10–11 Bullet Point Punctuationages 10–11 Choosing Tenses for Precise Meaningages 10–11 Colons and Semicolons in Listsages 10–11

All Grammar & Punctuation skills →