follow through (verb): to press on in an activity or process especially to a conclusion
follow-through (noun): the act or an instance of following through
—Merriam-Webster

These two words can be tricky because one uses a hyphen and one does not. As a verb, follow through is two words with no hyphen. As a noun, follow-through is one word with a hyphen between the two parts.

Here are examples of follow through used as a verb:

The lizard will follow through with his plans of world domination.
Saul followed through with his idea of starting a clothing store for lizards.

Here are examples of follow-through used as a noun:

The lizard has lots of goals, but his follow-through is poor.
Denise’s follow-through earned her a promotion.

Hint: If you are wondering which word to use, look at the role it plays in the sentence. And remember: If it’s a verb, follow through has no hyphen. If it’s a noun, follow-through has a hyphen.

Quiz
Fill in either follow through or follow-through in the blanks. The answers are below.

1. Lizzy has good _______, and her organizational skills help.
2. Sally keeps saying she will start writing her book, but she doesn’t _______.
3. One criterion for the new position is level of _______.
4. Tina wants to become an accountant, and she knows she will ________ on that dream.

Answers:
1. follow-through 2. follow through 3. follow-through 4. follow through

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