As we all know associative property states, $$(a + b) + c = a + (b + c)$$
We can simply solve by using the property
$$\therefore -12 + \left (\dfrac {7}{12} + \dfrac {-9}{11}\right ) = \left (12 + \dfrac {7}{12}\right ) + \left (\dfrac {-9}{11}\right )$$.