A Well-Known Problem: Well Known

A reader wrote to me today asking about a sentence with the phrase "well known." Is he "well known for his philanthropy" or "well-known for his philanthropy"?

The answer depends on whether the writer wants to be a language maven (someone who knows that maven means "expert" and enjoys knowing it) or wants simply to be consistent and correct.

For language mavens, well known and well-known each have a place: Well known is used when it comes after what it describes. Well-known comes before what it describes.

These sentences are both correct:

• He is well known for his philanthropy. (Well known describes he.)

• His well-known philanthropy is the subject of a new book. (Well-known describes philanthropy.)

Supporting the distinction above are Garner's Modern American Usage, The Chicago Manual of Style, and The Gregg Reference Manual.

For those who love consistency and easy language rules, well-known is acceptable in both sentences above. Why? Because the adjective well-known appears hyphenated in the dictionary. And the dictionary is a good enough guide for people who don't need to make their living as language experts.  

But well-known is also acceptable in both sentences according to The Associated Press Stylebook (AP). The rule in AP is that "when a modifier that would be hyphenated before a noun occurs instead after a form of the verb to be, the hyphen usually must be retained to avoid confusion." AP gives this example: "The man is well-known."

So, I hope the answer is now well known to you: Both well-known and well known are correct. You choose.

Lynn
Syntax Training

Comments

[Martin]

There is another fine distinction: that between "no one" and "no-one". Rarely is the distinction made. "No-one" means nobody. "No one" means "not a single" as in "No one man can lift this unaided". For more on this, see http://www.queens-english-society.com/errors_one.html

[Lynn Gaertner-Johnston]

Thanks, Martin. The word "no one" is never hyphenated in the United States.

Lynn

[Credit Repair]

It is depend on the expert. For me both sentence "well known for his philanthropy" or "well-known for his philanthropy" is the right and same meaning.

[PM]

So, 'well-known' is the participle behaving like an adjective and 'well known' is a verb qualified by an adverb, is that correct?

[Lynn Gaertner-Johnston]

"Well known" is not a verb. Although you did not give a sample sentence, "well known" is likely to follow the verb "is" or "are." You may describe it as a "subject complement" or a "predicate adjective."

Lynn