Which sentence contains a phrase that uses a hyphen incorrectly? a) he is an excellent sixth-grade student. b) he is an expert on the pre-civil war years. c) ex-students are not allowed to attend prom. d) there is no way to tell if he is less-qualified.

The correct answer is D. There is no way to tell if he is less-qualified

Explanation:

The hyphen (-) is a sign and punctuation mark mainly used to join words and combine the meaning of both in a sentence. Like commas, semicolons or other punctuation marks hyphen follow strict grammar rules that include using hyphen to make a compound adjective just if the adjective is  placed before the word it qualifies; using hyphen in compound words; using hyphens in compound adjectives that include numbers or fractions; using hyphens with prefixes such as "self-", "all-" or "ex-". Considering this, in the case of the sentence "There is no way to tell if he is less-qualified" the use of the hyphen is incorrect as the compound adjective "less-qualified" is placed after the word it describes "he" which means in this case the hyphen is not required as hyphens should only be used if the adjective is placed before the word it describes or qualifies. Thus, the sentence that uses the hyphen incorrectly is D. "There is no way to tell if he is less-qualified".