How many spaces do you put after a period?

[joannqn]

I was taught that you always put two spaced after every period or colon and one space between words, after commas, or after semi-colons. Apparently, it is becoming increasingly common to only use one space after periods. I've been using two spaces ever since I learned to type in 1987.

 

The MLA website says that you can use either unless your instructor or editor requests otherwise. I can't imagine trying to retrain my thumb at this point.

 

So, how many spaces do you put after a period? If you use two, do you plan on changing that?

[BikeBookBread]

I retrained myself to "1" years ago.

[Melinda in VT]

One. One. One. One. One. :D

 

I write professionally and two spaces is wrong.

 

ETA: Unless you are typing on a typewriter with a monospaced font.

[danybug]

I heard about the change on here a while back. I put two spaces. I don't think about it enough to even bother to become conscious about changing. It is to ingrained :tongue_smilie:

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm trying to retrain myself to one but old habits die hard. I learned on an old manual (not electric) typewriter. I know that computers space differently but these fingers just automatically hit that space bar twice. . .

[elegantlion]

I retrained myself to "1" years ago.

 

:iagree:

[justamouse]

One. One. One. One. One. :D

 

I write professionally and two spaces is wrong.

 

ETA: Unless you are typing on a typewriter with a monospaced font.

 

 

:iagree:

[Laurel]

2. Can't bring myself (or my fingers) to change. The exception is while texting. On my iPhone, I type 2 spaces to automatically put in a period. Then I start the next sentence, so there's only one space there. (But I'm still typing 2 spaces.)

[1GirlTwinBoys]

I was taught 2 spaces. Didn't know that had been revised.:confused: Don't know if I could change that after 27 years of doing it this way.:)

[kokotg]

I try to do one nowadays...but I don't really type anything formal enough for it to matter much, I don't think. I can write entire pages relying only on parentheses, dashes, and ellipses anyway :).

[Truscifi]

I suppose I would grudgingly use 1 if I were required to for a class or work, but I don't have to worry about that at this point. I prefer 2 even on a computer because I find it easier to read that way.

[Janie Grace]

I retrained myself to "1" years ago.

 

Same here. I also wrote professionally and this change is not new -- it's just newly known b/c of FB!

[SBMama]

I was taught 2 spaces. Didn't know that had been revised.:confused: Don't know if I could change that after 27 years of doing it this way.:)

 

:iagree:

[Margo out of lurking]

I was taught that you always put two spaced after every period or colon and one space between words, after commas, or after semi-colons. Apparently, it is becoming increasingly common to only use one space after periods. I've been using two spaces ever since I learned to type in 1987.

 

The MLA website says that you can use either unless your instructor or editor requests otherwise. I can't imagine trying to retrain my thumb at this point.

 

So, how many spaces do you put after a period? If you use two, do you plan on changing that?

 

Ah, Joann, this is clearly a generational thing. Us oldies are hard pressed to use just one space. :)

[KrissiK]

I use 2, have always used 2 and will continue to use 2. Two spaces is perfection.:tongue_smilie:

[KidsHappen]

I learned two but have since retrained myself to one. It was not easy at first but I am used to it now. I also remember when Pluto was a planet, Austraila was a continent, we only had four oceans and we weren't sure how the dinosaurs died out. Oh, come to think of it, I also remember when vaccines were invented. Just joking on that one. :biggrinjester:

Edited January 17, 2011 by KidsHappen

[Jen in PA]

I retrained myself to "1" years ago.

 

Same here. It really didn't take very long to switch over.

[Melinda in VT]

Ah, Joann, this is clearly a generational thing. Us oldies are hard pressed to use just one space. :)

 

I think it actually is a reflection on the generation to which your typing teacher belonged. And I think it also depends on what kind of typing your teacher thought you'd be doing.

 

I learned space rules in the context of newspaper writing in the late 1980s. One space was definitely the professional standard then.

 

Older typing teachers focused on secretarial typing were slow to make the change, I think.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I learned space rules in the context of newspaper writing in the late 1980s. One space was definitely the professional standard then.

 

 

 

Some of us learned in the 70's:) And it was 2 spaces then.

[jplain]

I was taught to type in high school (maybe 1990?), and I use 2. I'd hate to have to retrain my thumbs, and I prefer the look of 2 spaces between sentences.

 

I notice that the forum software "corrects" me. If I go back to edit a post, all of my double spaces after a period have turned into single spaces. What nerve! :lol:

[Big Buckin' Longhorn]

I use 2, have always used 2 and will continue to use 2. Two spaces is perfection.:tongue_smilie:

:iagree:100%

[bettyandbob]

1 on the computer word processor, because the word processor automatically spaces. 2 for the typewriter (I'm old).

[Melinda in VT]

Some of us learned in the 70's:) And it was 2 spaces then.

 

Well, ok, yes. For some of you, it is a generational thing. ;)

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I was taught one, so I always used one.

 

THEN, just last semester, I was told that we were supposed to use two. TWO? It threw my whole life into a loop! :tongue_smilie:

 

So NOW you people are telling me that the correct way is to use one?

-sigh- I'll never get this.

 

(FWIW: I use one normally, and two for formal writing. Guess I'll go back to one? I give up! :lol:)

[Lady Florida.]

One. And I learned on a manual typewriter in 1969, so I had to retrain myself. The spacing issue has to do with font styles - mono on old typewriters, proportional on computers.

 

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/spaces-period-end-of-sentence.aspx

 

I'm pretty old LOL! but one is now habit for me.

[wapiti]

I took typing in 8th grade, circa 1981, 2 spaces.

 

I was practicing law until 2001. Two spaces, absolutely. And, while we're at it, double-spaced lines.

 

And I have taught dd two spaces as well. One space is harder to read, as is single-space.

 

One space drives me insane.

[FeFe]

I use two except when texting. I find it easier to read with two spaces.

[QueenCat]

Some of us learned in the 70's:) And it was 2 spaces then.

 

One space for me in the 70's....

[Mary in VA]

Ah, Joann, this is clearly a generational thing. Us oldies are hard pressed to use just one space. :)

 

:iagree:I learned to type in high school over 30 years ago and my tumb automatically spaces two at the end of the sentence. See :001_smile: If I were in the business world I would try to fix that, but I'm not, so I don't really care. Both my dds learned only put one space, so I haven't tainted them!

 

Mary

 

ETA: Well so much for my demonstration with the "see." It appears that when you post on here it automatically corrects the double space!

[Lady Florida.]

:iagree:I learned to type in high school over 30 years ago and my tumb automatically spaces two at the end of the sentence. See :001_smile: If I were in the business world I would try to fix that, but I'm not, so I don't really care. Both my dds learned only put one space, so I haven't tainted them!

 

Mary

 

Maybe being in the work world made a difference with me. I took typing in 9th grade, in 1969. We had these crazy homemade cardboard thingies we put over our necks, and they stuck out so we couldn't see the keyboard. This was how we were supposed to learn how to type without looking at the keyboard. And we used 2 spaces. But...

 

I worked until ds was born in 1997, and by then it had mostly changed to one space. There were still a few rule books saying two, but I was required to retrain myself to one, and it stuck.

 

At least you haven't ruined your kids by teaching them to <gasp> use 2 spaces. :lol:

[Gratia271]

I was practicing law until 2001. Two spaces, absolutely. And, while we're at it, double-spaced lines.

 

And I have taught dd two spaces as well. One space is harder to read, as is single-space.

 

One space drives me insane.

 

:iagree:

[Farrar]

I learned to type with Typing Tutor on our very first computer and that program (at the time at least) taught 2 spaces. If it's acceptable to the MLA, then it's simply not "wrong" as a couple of PP's said. Obviously, the world is moving toward single spaces so when my kids learn to type, I'll almost certainly teach that. However, both methods are acceptable - I don't find one space harder to read, I just understood two as being the accepted style. And clearly the majority of us use 2 spaces from the numbers in the poll so far.

[Sputterduck]

Two it is, and two it always will be for me.

[Evergreen State Sue]

Somebody tell me a good reason why I need to change from 2 spaces to 1 space. I mean a good reason . . . not just because it is the thing to do.

 

My first year high school typing class was the last class to learn on manual typewriters. We switched to electric the next year, used electric and mag card word processors in college, and had a job working in a word processing department for many, many years. I realize I left that field a long time ago, but it is very hard to teach an old dog new tricks. What's so bad about 2 spaces after a sentence?

[prairiebird]

Somebody tell me a good reason why I need to change from 2 spaces to 1 space. I mean a good reason . . . not just because it is the thing to do.

 

My first year high school typing class was the last class to learn on manual typewriters. We switched to electric the next year, used electric and mag card word processors in college, and had a job working in a word processing department for many, many years. I realize I left that field a long time ago, but it is very hard to teach an old dog new tricks. What's so bad about 2 spaces after a sentence?

Hahahaha, I was about to ask the same thing. I don't think I could retrain myself.

[Melinda in VT]

Somebody tell me a good reason why I need to change from 2 spaces to 1 space. I mean a good reason . . . not just because it is the thing to do.

 

My first year high school typing class was the last class to learn on manual typewriters. We switched to electric the next year, used electric and mag card word processors in college, and had a job working in a word processing department for many, many years. I realize I left that field a long time ago, but it is very hard to teach an old dog new tricks. What's so bad about 2 spaces after a sentence?

 

The link that floridamom posted above explains the basic issue. The change from one space to two is tied to the change from monospaced fonts to proportional fonts.

 

Using two spaces after a period makes it more likely you will end up with "rivers" of space in your text, which can be very distracting.

[Farrar]

The link that floridamom posted above explains the basic issue. The change from one space to two is tied to the change from monospaced fonts to proportional fonts.

 

Using two spaces after a period makes it more likely you will end up with "rivers" of space in your text, which can be very distracting.

 

But that's not really a reason to switch what you're already doing, IMHO. It's a reason why it's unnecessary now and why the style has changed to make a single space acceptable (in addition to two spaces, at least by the MLA). As for the rivers of space, I have never seen that caused by leaving two spaces. That's usually caused by setting the alignment to justified margins in your word processing program - though it may be that two spaces exacerbates the issue.

 

The only reason I can think of to do it is because the way technology processes our words and spaces is changing. There are more and more places online counting your characters and it counts that double space as extra characters. Also, while word processing programs all align the margins properly if two spaces are used at the end of a sentence at the end of a line, many other programs do not. I blog at Wordpress and it doesn't align that space properly - it puts an additional space at the start of the next line. It's pretty hard to notice, but if you do notice it, it's clearly incorrect. Though who is to blame for the error? Badly written blogging software or old-fashioned typists trying to blog? I suppose that's up to your perception.

 

I'm clinging to the two spaces. But I know it will eventually go the way of the dodo.

[NanceXToo]

1. I've only ever used 1.

[eight_gregorys]

Interesting topic. I graduated high school in 2000 and learned to type with 2 spaces. I like how two spaces looks and find it easier to read that way. I will not change to one space. EVER, lol.

 

Its interesting that there is such a disparity in what is used when everyone learned to type in the span of numerous decades.

[jewellsmommy]

I was never taught two, so I use one. But, I prefer the look of two.

[Kathleen in VA]

The program here (on the WTM boards) automatically changes two spaces after a period to one.

 

I learned to type two but am slowly trying to change over to one. I proofread for an organization that uses Constact Contact for its newsletter and MODx for its website. Both of those will not work properly if you type two spaces after a period. One of my proofreading exercises is to to a find for all double spaces after periods and delete the extra space. For me it's just easier to type one space than to try to go back and fix the places where there are two.

[Susan in KY]

One. One. One. One. One. :D

 

I write professionally and two spaces is wrong.

 

ETA: Unless you are typing on a typewriter with a monospaced font.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

[Cortana]

I took a typing course in high school and then again in college the first time I went, was taught 2 spaces. When I went back to college the second time 10 years later, everything was changed to 1 space. It was so hard to get used to it, thankfully my typing instructor figured what the problem was and didn't mark it incorrect but gave me time to get used to the difference.

 

Now, I type with 1 space but occasionally catch myself typing 2 spaces.

[Melinda in VT]

But that's not really a reason to switch what you're already doing, IMHO. It's a reason why it's unnecessary now and why the style has changed to make a single space acceptable (in addition to two spaces, at least by the MLA). As for the rivers of space, I have never seen that caused by leaving two spaces. That's usually caused by setting the alignment to justified margins in your word processing program - though it may be that two spaces exacerbates the issue.

 

The only reason I can think of to do it is because the way technology processes our words and spaces is changing. There are more and more places online counting your characters and it counts that double space as extra characters. Also, while word processing programs all align the margins properly if two spaces are used at the end of a sentence at the end of a line, many other programs do not. I blog at Wordpress and it doesn't align that space properly - it puts an additional space at the start of the next line. It's pretty hard to notice, but if you do notice it, it's clearly incorrect. Though who is to blame for the error? Badly written blogging software or old-fashioned typists trying to blog? I suppose that's up to your perception.

 

I'm clinging to the two spaces. But I know it will eventually go the way of the dodo.

 

Maybe this depends on what you are using for your standard. If your standard is professionally typeset material, than one space is correct and has been for a long time. My background is in editing and writing for publication, and in that world, two spaces is definitely wrong.

 

The technology that is available to the average person now uses typefaces that approach professional typefaces, so it makes sense to change the spacing to match the professional standard.

 

Of course, if your college professor or the head of your law firm dictates otherwise, well, when in Rome. :D

[Hannah C.]

I was never, ever taught to put two spaces after a period. Ever. So I've always just put one space. I've never been told to do otherwise. In fact, I've been counted off for the occasional accidental extra space.

[Lovin Learnin]

I was taught to use two spaces but had to make the change at work when they decided to make a company wide switch to one space (we actually had an all staff training on this). I frequently forgot during the transaction so I started doing a "find" and "replace" on all of my documents to look for two spaces and replace with one. As long as I remembered to do that as a final proofing technique I was able to catch them all. After awhile, it just became habit to use one space and now it feels unnatural to use two.

[KatieH]

I was taught two spaces, and probably won't give it up. I don't see the point. I suppose if my livelihood depended on it, I would, but other wise, I don't care.

[LauraGB]

Not 2 spaces after a period? :svengo: I think that might be a sin.

 

Can't change. Won't change. Ain't gonna do it.

 

I'll bet all you 1-spacers write in your books, too. (Another sin, btw)

 

:tongue_smilie:

[HappyCrazyMama]

I was taught one in my high school keyboarding class, on a typewriter.:tongue_smilie: When I started doing some secretary work for a friend she kindly informed me that computers have the correct spacing after a period and that using two was now incorrect so I switched.

[mamakven]

just discovered this year it was revised! ugg. it looks dumb that way!! trying to retrain but old habits....