Grammar: Do you use punctuation on a sentence that ends with a period due to abbreviation?

Question

I think the subject just about sums it up. The sentence in question ends "there are forces working against E.T."

Is the period after the T suitable enough or do I need a second one?

Elton, thanks for that detailed answer. I should have made one thing clear, though. The sentence isn't a quotation. I just put it in quotes in this question. It also isn't the beginning of a sentence. I am sorry for wasting your time by not explaining myself properly the first time!

Answer 1

Even with an abbreviation; one period to a customer. You could place a period after the quotation which would not be considered wrong, but unnecessary. You can never use two periods consecutively, but you can use three if there is more that is not stated in the quote. The statement you used is correct, however the "t" (in "there") should be capitalized because it is the beginning sentence of the quote. It would correctly read as, "There are forces working against E.T."

Further proper grammer for your question would include a comma after the word, "ends" before you stated your sentence. Then you should have used quotation marks for the "T" and used a comma separating, "enough" and "or". I realize this is an informal board, however your question if grammitically correct would read as follows:

I think the subject just about sums it up. The sentence in question ends, "There are forces working against E.T."

Is the perioid afther the "T" suitable enough, or do I need a second one?

This is just to assist you; not to be offensive. Since your question dealt with correctness, I was compelled to point this out to you. You asked a very valid question and I admire that.

Answer 2

I would write the sentence thus:

...there are forces working against E.T..

That's one period belonging to the abbreviation and another ending the sentence.

A friend of mine showed me an even more confusing example. His sentence ended in an ellipsis (i.e., three consecutive periods meaning "more follows, but we won't list it all"). But because it was the end of a sentence, he had to put four periods in a row!

Oh, and if your sentence *had* been in quotation marks, then you *still* have the two periods, both inside the quotation marks.

Answer 3

Just the one.

Answer 4

You only need one.

Answer 5

one is suitable enough

Answer 6

yup just one