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Pedants' corner

One or two spaces after a full stop?

26 replies

Wheatie · 16/10/2012 09:44

I always thought it was two, as that's how I was taught to type 15 years ago.. but someone is trying to convince me it has changed and now we should only have one! Can it be true?

OP posts:
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dysfunctionalme · 16/10/2012 09:45

2 spaces in publishing

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JaxTellerIsMyFriend · 16/10/2012 09:46

I was taught two spaces.

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GooseyLoosey · 16/10/2012 09:50

Our house style is 2 spaces.

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Bearandcub · 16/10/2012 09:51

2 spaces in Pitman typing tests.

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LunaticFringe · 16/10/2012 09:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Woodlands · 16/10/2012 09:54

It has changed now and should only be one space.

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SHRIIIEEEKPoolingBearBlood · 16/10/2012 10:00

One imo

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MooncupGoddess · 16/10/2012 10:01

Yes, only one now.

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hanglider · 16/10/2012 10:06

Exactly. With typing it had two spaces because it made it clearer when reading (typewriter font is 'courier' from memory). With the advent of word processing the new fonts available were better shaped for reading (courier is quite square) and so two spaces were no longer deemed necessary.

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Wheatie · 16/10/2012 12:58

The majority say one.. Google says one.. am I just going to have to get used to one space Confused I'm so set in my ways!

OP posts:
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Pseudonym99 · 18/10/2012 04:51

Two spaces after a full stop or colon; one space after a comma or semi-colon.

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VintageRainBoots · 18/10/2012 05:00

I was taught to use two spaces, too.

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snozzlemaid · 18/10/2012 06:30

I'm not giving up my two spaces. Don't think I could retrain my fingers anyway.

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Lougle · 18/10/2012 07:11

It was always two. People now say one. I prefer two, but my Swype keyboard likes one.

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takeonboard · 18/10/2012 07:15

Two. I didn't know it had changed to one, don't think I can change the habit of a lifetime now.

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LilBlondePessimist · 18/10/2012 07:17

Sticking with two here as well.

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CambridgeBlue · 18/10/2012 07:19

One, always one. I spend half my life find and replacing double spaces in copy typed by people who were taught the old way which may have been correct once but just looks wrong now.

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AnitaBlake · 18/10/2012 07:21

Two was to do with typing on manual machines. I was taught two. I think one is more to do with the rise in sms use as much as anything else. Both are acceptable but I would argue that for clarity two is preferable.

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Panzee · 18/10/2012 07:22

I do two, my newspaper reporter husband says one.

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RustyBear · 18/10/2012 07:25

Interestingly, I can't see any difference in the spacing in the posts of those who say two spaces and those who say one. Grin

My iPad always converts two spaces into a full stop, one space and a capital letter to start the next sentence, so I've got used to one space now.

While we're on the subject of punctuation, shouldn't an ellipsis be three dots?

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FamiliesShareGerms · 18/10/2012 07:26

I was taught two; it's now one for most house styles (including our's), for the reasons other give

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cardibach · 18/10/2012 22:13

One looks all wrong to me. I always use two, but one after a comma or semi colon.

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Abra1d · 19/10/2012 07:24

For the last twenty years publishers have asked me for one space only after full stops.

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WithManyTots · 19/10/2012 12:59

On a typewriter or using a fixed pitch font, two spaces. However, modern word processors using proportional fonts seem to do if for you. If you look at the space they leave in the sequence, full stop, space, capital letter, it is more than they leave between words in a sentence, but less than the space they leave if you put two spaces between words by accident. I have become a convert, and now often search and replace /space/ /space/ /fs/ with /space/ /fs/ but I may be going a bit far... Equally the sequence /fs/ /space /paragraph/ arrhh, Why not just drag your nails down a blackboard..

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WMittens · 20/10/2012 11:49

I was always taught to use one space. I remember having to correct some letter templates where the author had used three!

...(including our's)...

Get out!

Wink

While we're on the subject of punctuation, shouldn't an ellipsis be three dots?

Yes. However, there is no solid convention that I can find about whether there should be spaces before or after the ellipsis, or inbetween the dots, so I think it's open to personal preference.

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