Ride Along or Ride-Along or Ride-A-Long?

[Adrian]

Which is the correct hyphenation of words when used together, and
why?

"Ride-Along" seems to be used when acting as a noun or adjective, as
in "the department authorizes a ride-along program" and "ride along"
seems to be used when acting as a compound verb, as in "I am going
with the police on a ride along."

Comments?

[Robert Lieblich]

Post by Adrian
Which is the correct hyphenation of words when used together, and
why?
"Ride-Along" seems to be used when acting as a noun or adjective, as
in "the department authorizes a ride-along program" and "ride along"
seems to be used when acting as a compound verb, as in "I am going
with the police on a ride along."
Comments?

Generally correct. However:

1. "Ride along" isn't a compound verb or even, IMO, a phrasal verb.
It's just a verb ("ride") followed by an adverb or (in some cases) a
preposition. Here "along" is an adverb: "I intend to ride along in
the police car." Here it's a preposition: "I will ride along the
shore in my ATV."

2. In your last example, "ride along" serves as a noun, the object of
the preposition "on", not a verb. It therefore needs the hyphen that
is required when it is used as a noun: "I am going on a ride-along."

Also, watch out for a trademark infringement suit from Bun Mui.

[m***@gmail.com]

Post by Robert Lieblich

Post by Adrian
Which is the correct hyphenation of words when used together, and
why?
"Ride-Along" seems to be used when acting as a noun or adjective, as
in "the department authorizes a ride-along program" and "ride along"
seems to be used when acting as a compound verb, as in "I am going
with the police on a ride along."
Comments?

1. "Ride along" isn't a compound verb or even, IMO, a phrasal verb.
It's just a verb ("ride") followed by an adverb or (in some cases) a
preposition. Here "along" is an adverb: "I intend to ride along in
the police car." Here it's a preposition: "I will ride along the
shore in my ATV."
2. In your last example, "ride along" serves as a noun, the object of
the preposition "on", not a verb. It therefore needs the hyphen that
is required when it is used as a noun: "I am going on a ride-along."
Also, watch out for a trademark infringement suit from Bun Mui.

hi