KommA

Vielleicht ist das eine Frage fuer die natives unter uns?

Ich will ja nicht nerven, aber kann mir denn wirklich keiner eine Hilfestellung geben? Das waere wirklich lieb!

I'd use "pre- and post-x" with dashes, but a quick squint into Google told me, that the dash-setting is pretty sloppy

Liebe Jule, Geduld! Es ist zwanzig vor sieben, die meisten Leoniden sind aus dem Büro auf dem Weg nach Hause. Einfach den Faden morgen nochmal ein wenig hochpushen und der Dinge harren, die da kommen mögen! Zur Sache selbst kann ich leider nichts sagen... verzeih.

Du hast Recht girl!

Your example would be more helpful if you supplied the English for "Zwischenspiel" and "Nachspiel".

The rule I would apply is that you never add a dash in English, though you leave a hyphen that was there before the omission, and that you do not normally omit *part* of a non-hyphenated word.

For example:

"hardware and software" -> "hardware and software"
"hard porn and soft porn" -> "hard and soft porn"
"pre-surgery and post-surgery" -> "pre- and post-surgery"
"preposition and postposition" -> "preposition and postposition".

I cannot find confirmation of this rule at the moment.

Mike my example "Vorspiel, Nachspiel, Zwischenspiel..." was just made up to show what I meant. I do not have to translate these words, but I want to learn if there are rules for such cases

@Jule
The problem was that the examples added the complication of "pre" and "post" being prefixes -- and prefixes that are sometimes used with a hyphen. That was a good thing if you wanted the rules for different cases, but I was unsure.

I still can't find confirmation for the rules as I understand them, though I have a vague recollection of reading something somewhere.

I think this is just regarded by most as something where there is no special rule, since one merely omits the repetition of a "word". I suppose the need for a rule is greater in German because of the use of "closed compounds" (one word) where English would use open compounds (separate words).