Question

which sentence uses a hyphen correctly?
a the neighborhood is always filled with sleepy men - walking - dogs at 7 a.m.
b rhonda was so excited when her noise - cancelling headphones were delivered
c my mom was so mad when she found out we had knocked over her favorite - lamp
d it seems like every movie playing at the theater was an extremely - violent one

Explanation:

• Option A: "men - walking - dogs" is an incorrect hyphenation. It should be "men walking dogs" (no hyphen needed as it's not a compound adjective modifying a noun in a specific way).
• Option B: "noise - cancelling" is a correct hyphenated compound adjective. It clearly describes the type of headphones (headphones that cancel noise).
• Option C: "favorite - lamp" is incorrect. "Favorite" is an adjective that directly modifies "lamp" without the need for a hyphen.
• Option D: "extremely - violent" is incorrect. Adverbs like "extremely" do not form hyphenated compound adjectives with the adjectives they modify.

Answer:

B. Rhonda was so excited when her noise - cancelling headphones were delivered.