Q.
Would "already strong" be hyphenated when used as a modifier (an already-strong
balance sheet)? It seems like it should be, but the vast, vast majority of
references I've seen don't hyphenate it. Is "already" one of those special
words that doesn't need a hyphen, even when it's used as part of a compound
modifier?
a.
The rule on compound modifiers is that they are hyphenated if they come before the noun being modified but not if they come after the noun:
We have an already-strong balance sheet.
But
Our balance sheet is already strong.
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