Is "light-duty" always hyphenated even when no word follows to denote it as an adverb?

Answer by  patti (29325)

In the example, light duty would not be hyphenated. "He was on duty," with duty as a noun, and "He was on light duty," with light as the adjective modifying the noun. "Light-duty" would be used to describe something, e. g. "His assignments were limited to paperwork and light-duty," where "light-duty" is used to described "assignments. "

Answer by  MzKitty (273)

No. It is only hyphenated when the entire phrase stands in as an adjective; if light is the adjective and duty the noun, then there is no need to hyphenate it.