When typing, do you put 1 or 2 spaces after a period?

Question

Another inane question! :)

I learned to type in the mid-1980s (on a typewriter) in California. We were specifically told to hit the space bar ONCE after typing a period. My mom learned in the late 1940s or early '50s (obviously on a typewriter) in Illinois, and she too was told to only hit ONE space.

However, I also know folks, both of my generation, my mom's, and others, who put 2 spaces after a period. I think this looks silly, wastes space, and makes typing more tedious.

I'm trying to figure out if there's any rhyme or reason to this. The majority of folks I've asked agree that ONE space is the preferred rule. And, if you ever get into journalism or publishing, you'll quickly learn 2 spaces are taboo!! *chuckle* It's all about word count or inch count, and all those extra spaces add up to LOTS of waste!

Please give your age, WHEN you learned to type, WHERE you learned, and if you use 1 or 2 spaces. Also, if you know WHY the 2-space thing was ever used at all, please share! :)

Answer 1

I always use 2 spaces, and as far as I know, that's what they still teach around here.
I was taught in California using a typewriter around 1989-91.

I found much discussion on this after an internet search (some links below)

Many agreed on this:
When old-fashioned typewriters typed a letter, the carriage moved by a set increment (all the characters occupied the same amount of space on the line), so double word spaces between typewritten sentences helped to make the type look more naturally spaced and made it easier to identify the endings/beginnings of sentences..an example given in one of the links was this sentence:

"...to determine whether they were commercially viable in the U.S. Ware and his colleagues concluded that the green and the brown cotton yielded too little..."

The word "Ware" is the beginning of a sentence, but it may be confused for someone's name: "U.S. Ware."

Since computers now adjust the letters to fit together, one space is probably sufficient to show separation between sentences, but I guess people still do it out of habbit or because it's in a manual somewhere :).

http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/taylor/topics/doublespace.htm

http://evolt.org/node/213

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_stop

http://www.webword.com/reports/period.html

Answer 2

My mother learned to type in a Florida H.S. in 1955 and she was taught the 2 space rule (2 after a period at the END of a sentence, one after a comma). I was taught typing, also in a Florida school, in 1986 (third grade) and I put 2 spaces after the period that ends a sentence, too.
I think this is done to differentiate it from any other periods that may be in your writing.

Answer 3

One space between words, two after a period. The two spaces helps to indicate that a new sentence is starting. It's another visual cue, like the period.

I am 23 years old. I learned to type at age 6, in school.

Answer 4

i have always been told to use two spaces after a period. i learned to type in the late 80's on a typewriter in Minnesota when i was in the 9th grade (i'm 34 now). i also think it looks better with two spaces. hope this helps!

Answer 5

I'm 24. I learned to type in 8th grade in 1994 in my computer applications class and when I was taught (I think it was on an old Mac IIe), I was taught to type with 2 spaces after the period. And (as you can tell) it's stuck. The only logical sense I could put to it was that it helps you read the sentences more clearly.

Answer 6

Ok, I'm 27, I learned to type in a high school typing class.

So, you space twice after a period when the period is used to end a sentence. Otherwise, space once.

Answer 7

Two is the correct amount of spaces. I'm 19, I learned in a typing class, and it is used in case of typos. If someone accidently forgets to type a period, it is still understood that they meant to begin a new sentence in that place.

Answer 8

I was tought to put one space behind the period after every sentence. Maybe the 2 space thing was invented for the indentation on papers, we may never know, all I know is you put one space after the period in a sentence.

Answer 9

Two spaces. I took a keyboarding class in college (2 years ago) and we used two spaces after each period. I think it is standard for writing papers and such. I remember learning it in high school also.

Answer 10

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