Writing · Free lesson
A 20-minute break or 20 minutes?
You are writing a schedule. The break is 20 minutes long. How do you put that length before the word break?
Professor Scott MendozaThe short answer
Write a 20-minute break: 20 and minute form one description before break. Keep minute singular and join the pair with a hyphen. In The break lasts 20 minutes, minutes names the duration and takes its normal plural.
Before the noun: number + singular unit.
The noun being described stays outside the hyphenated group: a 20-minute break, two 20-minute breaks. Even when there are two breaks, minute stays singular inside the description. When you say how long something lasts, use the ordinary number phrase: 20 minutes.
Compare the examples
We have a 20-minute break.
We have two 20-minute breaks.
Each break lasts 20 minutes.
The hyphen joins 20 and minute; do not attach break to that group.
Build the meaning step by step
Find the thing described
break
Group its length before it
a 20-minute break
Try it now
Place the measurement
Read all answers and explanations
Choose the standard description before meeting.
a 30-minute meeting30-minute works as one modifier. Minute is singular and the hyphen does not join meeting.
Complete: The meeting lasts ___.
30 minutesThis states the duration itself, so the ordinary plural minutes is needed.
Describe two reports, each with four pages.
two four-page reportsPage stays singular inside four-page; reports is plural because there are two.
Put it into practice
Repair the schedule note
Keep one break and its length of 15 minutes. Repair both measurement expressions.
We have a 15-minutes break. It lasts 15-minute.
See a model answer
We have a 15-minute break. It lasts 15 minutes.
The meaning stays the same; the position changes the form.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
What if there is more than one break?
Pluralize break, not minute inside the modifier.
two 20-minute breaks
Do all noun modifiers need a hyphen?
No. This pattern is specifically for number–unit descriptions. A phrase such as a school bus has no hyphen.
a school bus
Take it into your day
A 20-minute break lasts 20 minutes.
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