Question

where does the hyphen belong in the following sentence? a lot of ex nfl players become football coaches after they retire. a-lot nfl-players ex-nfl football-coaches

Explanation:

To determine where the hyphen belongs, we analyze each option:

• "A-Lot": "A lot" is a common phrase without a hyphen, so this is incorrect.
• "NFL-Players": "NFL players" is a noun phrase where "NFL" modifies "players" and no hyphen is needed here.
• "Ex-NFL": "Ex" (meaning former) and "NFL" (National Football League) form a compound adjective to describe "players", so a hyphen between "Ex" and "NFL" is correct.
• "football-coaches": "Football coaches" is a noun phrase with no need for a hyphen.

Answer:

C. Ex-NFL