Close menu
1

Unit 1: Pop-ups
Present simple, present continuous & present perfect

Select a unit

  1. 1Pop-ups
  2. 2Hidden talents
  3. 3Can't buy me love
  4. 4Travellers' tales
  5. 5The colleague from hell
  6. 6Jurassic mystery: unpacking the past
  7. 7Career changes
  8. 8Art
  9. 9Project management
  10. 10The dog ate my homework!
  11. 11The diary of a double agent
  12. 12Fashion forward
  13. 13Flat pack skyscrapers
  14. 14Extreme sports
  15. 15Food fads
  16. 16Me, my selfie and I
  17. 17Endangered animals
  18. 18A nip and a tuck: cosmetic surgery
  19. 19I'm really sorry...
  20. 20Telling stories
  21. 21Fakes and phrasals
  22. 22Looking to the future
  23. 23Becoming familiar with things
  24. 24From rags to riches
  25. 25Against the odds
  26. 26Our future on Mars?
  27. 27Where is it illegal to get a fish drunk?
  28. 28Dodgy dating
  29. 29Annoying advice
  30. 30I'll have been studying English for thirty weeks

Session 1

Hyphens: those little dashes we sometimes use in English to make compound nouns and adjectives like hard-working. But how do you know when to use a hyphen and when not to? This session will help you.

Wayiitiwwan marii boqonnaa kana keessaa

1234

Wayitii marii qabxii 1

0 / 14

  • 0 / 0
    Activity 1
  • 0 / 7
    Activity 2
  • 0 / 7
    Activity 3
  1. Activity 1
  2. Activity 2
  3. Activity 3

Activity 2

60 years old today!

'Sixty years old' or 'sixty-year-old'?  

Sometimes phrases with numbers need hyphens, and sometimes they don't. Why not try our five-minute quiz to see how much you know?

Barreeffama kana dubbisii shakala kana xumuri

To do

Try our numbers and hyphens quiz. Have a look at the notes in the vocabulary box if you need help - or go back to activity 1 of this unit to listen to 6 Minute Vocabulary again.

Number and hyphen gaps

7 Questions

To hyphenate, or not to hyphenate? Fill the gaps...

Baga gammadde! Qormaata xumurteetta
Excellent!Great job!Carraa badaa!Qabxii argatte:
x / y

Next

How did you get on? In the next activity we'll practise using hyphens in phrases without numbers. 

Session Vocabulary

  • Hyphens and numbers

    • We use hyphens in adjective phrases with ages and numbers before a noun:

    I have an eight-year-old daughter.
    My mum drives a two-door car.

    • We don't use hyphens when an adjective phrase with an age or number comes after the noun:

    The students are eighteen years old.
    My car only has two doors.

    • We use hyphens in ordinal numbers:

    My birthday is on the twenty-seventh of June.

    • We use hyphens in numbers between 21 and 99:

    Mario dieted for sixty-two days until he reached his target weight. 

Wabii jechoota guutuu agarsiisi

Wiirtuu gadi-buufatan

Qabiyyee koorsiiwwan dhihoo kanaa