<em>The above pair illustrates the most correct and appropriate use of a hyphen as it is referred to as the punctuation mark that is employed to combine the meaning of two words or syllables that enhances the meaning of the words.</em> It could be used to join two adjectives for example "rock-hard cake" or two verbs "load-bearing walls" or a noun to an adjective "dog-friendly" but while using it should be kept in mind that <em>hyphen acts as modifier and thus, the words should function together which is best justified by "friendly-looking dog" here as it suggests the nature of dogs. The other two seem functioning less together.</em>
