‘Hyphens’, ‘Whom’ y ‘who’

Original Article in Spanish: https://www.ambitojuridico.com/noticias/etcetera/educacion-y-cultura/hyphens-whom-y-who

What is a hyphen? There are many features for this punctuation mark, but we'll dive into the main uses. First tip: do not confuse the hyphen with the dash; in English, they are different. Let's discover the most common use of hyphen.

The following examples correspond to intellectual property issues. Hyphens are used only to create compound words in English:

- Sustantivos compuestos (co-applicant1, know-how2). Por ejemplo, The co-applicants are a strong pair, one provides the know-how, and the other the startup capital.

- Verbos compuestos (to fine-tune3, to mass-produce4). Por ejemplo: In the manufacturing sector, it is crucial to fine-tune your patents before you mass-produce your product.

- Adjetivos compuestos (state-of-the-art5, cutting-edge6). Por ejemplo, Contrary to popular belief, state-of-the-art and cutting-edge, carry the same meaning related to the most modern technology, scientific or industrial processes.

Clarification: Compound adverbs "ly" are used very rarely.

The three compounds mentioned above are designed for the same purpose. A hyphen is used to avoid mispronunciations and ensure the correct accent on each element of the compound word. The ultimate purpose is probably the most critical aspect: to help avoid ambiguity.

Here are the definitions, for greater clarity: 1) The knowledge to do a specific job. 2) Someone with the same responsibility as the applicant. 3) Refine, perfect. 4) Mass production. 5) Cutting-edge and 6) Advanced or state-of-the-art technology.

¿'Whom' o 'who'?

Whom is simple and complicated at the same time. It is simple, in the sense that it is the objective case of who, which means that the form whom is in the position of the object in a sentence (who receives the action). Things get complicated by locating the object in the sentence.

In grammatical terms, whom is an object, it is a noun (such as a pronoun or gerund) that receives the action of a verb or that completes the meaning of a preposition.

The following examples correspond to procedural law issues:

- Whom did they summon1?

- Those are the witnesses2 whom she called in the trial3.

- German, whom I call a friend is coming to become an expert witness4.

From a grammatical point of view, who is a pronoun, meaning that it is used in place of a noun or noun phrase to refer to a noun or noun phrase that has already been mentioned or does not need to be specifically named. Whom replaces who where that word would receive the action of the verb or complete the meaning of a preposition.

- Who drafted5 the summons for the hearing6?

- Tell me who is the first on the jury7.

- Many people forget who gives the verdict8, and who hands down9 the sentence10.

In spoken English, this detail really isn't that important. However, when drafting legal documents, details are essential to be concrete.

Here are some key definitions, for greater clarity: 1) Summon, convene. 2) Witnesses. 3) Trial 4) Expert. 5) Drafted. 6) Hearing. 7) Jury. 8) Verdict. 9) Dictate. 10) Judgment.