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Two spaces after the period....

MC BumSlap

MC BumSlap

Big Belly Bum Scud
Joined
Jul 8, 2008
Location
Burnistoun
Moto(s)
Faux Bonneville
Name
J
...will be a hard habit to break. :laughing

I've been back to school at night and online for the last couple of years. As one of the core requirements, I'm taking college level English this semester. We have to follow MLA format which dictates a single space after the period. I was taught two spaces when I learned how to type on those awesome IBM Selectric II/III typewriters back in 1991.
 
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Well hopefully you didn't wait till your 50's to get r done, like somebody I know......

Good Luck!
 
Two spaces is more than old school, is antiquate. It's like the French with a space between a word and the question mark. It makes so weird to read.
 
yodaisgod said:
...will be a hard habit to break. :laughing

I've been back to school at night and online for the last couple of years. As one of the core requirements, I'm taking college level English this semester. We have to follow MLA format which dictates a single space after the period. I was taught two spaces when I learned how to type on those awesome IBM Selectric II/III typewriters back in 1991.
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wut, ?
I also thought(*) the standard was two spaces after the period anyway. But maybe the standards have changed after that.

At least that's what I remember from being taught in college. In this country's English at least..
 
carries an axe said:
Thanks
that is something I was never sure of and too forgetful to look up.
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It's called the oxford comma and it's used to remove ambiguity.

I called my parents, Mike and Donna.
I called my parents, Mike, and Donna.

Did I call 2 people or 4?

I called Mike and Donna, my parent's. Would be more acceptable but...
 
Yakoo752 said:
It's called the oxford comma and it's used to remove ambiguity.

I called my parents, Mike and Donna.
I called my parents, Mike, and Donna.

Did I call 2 people or 4?

I called Mike and Donna, my parent's. Would be more acceptable but...
Click to expand...

Or ... I called my parents. Their names are Mike and Donna.

End of ambiguity. :teeth
 
but only if describing you parent's adds to the narrative otherwise it's superfluous

the English language is constantly evolving.
 
I'm old school. I put two space after a comma. :x

mike23w said:
there's now also a comma before 'and':

"One, two, and three."
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This isn't new. I've always put the comma there. But it is an area of some debate. Just like the double space after a period.
 
2 spaces after the state then zip code, ie. CA 90210
 
Semantics, always a good discussion provoking topic...:laughing
 
I was taught the two space thing too. i didn't even know that one was appropriate until a manuscript reviewer chastised me. I've somewhat broken the habit, but it's tough. My strategy is to just not worry about it when I'm writing. Then, as a final step before submitting anything I just use the replace function to swap all double spaces for a single.
 
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