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Pad Patter: 1/16 - Punctuation Rules

Angie4b1g

Angie4b1g

A hundred jobs but Bob Villa ain't one
Joined
Feb 25, 2011
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Did you know that 2 spaces after a sentence is no longer a thing? The standard is now 1. And no matter what I do, I can't break the habit.

All last semester I had to use Word to find/replace all 2 spaces to 1 space. It will be the death of me.

Also, are you for or against the Oxford comma?

Which one:

Eggs, toast, and orange juice.

Eggs, toast and orange juice.
 
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I cannot break the habit of two spaces are a period either. Just can't do it. And I never heard the term Oxford comma, but the 2nd example is what I was taught and still use.
 
Angie4b1g said:
Did you know that 2 periods after a sentence is no longer a thing? The standard is now 1. And no matter what I do, I can't break the habit.
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Yep, I've always used two PERIODS after a sentence :rofl

Now, regarding 2 SPACES, say it ain't so? I will never break that habit. Which is obvious as I type this reply and honestly try to stop my hand from pressing that spacebar twice. That said, I wonder who was the 1st one to decide that it should be a thing to begin with? hmmm...

Re: commas, I totally use them inappropriately, all the time, and always have, LOL. :giggle
 
I don't know what an oxford comma is, but if you live in Europe ,the first is correct........... lots of inappropriate full stops, - dashes (love them) and a whole lot of exclamation marks and extra letters is sooooo much more fun though !!! :whistle
 
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I've been working in newspapers since I was in high school and style rules have long been one space after a sentence. So even in school, I didn't use the two space thing.

As for comas, I can't tell you how many boring arguments I've heard about them working on copy desk. People get very passionate about their punctuation! I tend to think you don't need the Oxford coma unless it provides clarity. "I'm going pack milk, peanut butter and jelly, and an apple for lunch."
 
rmcabana said:
I've been working in newspapers since I was in high school and style rules have long been one space after a sentence. So even in school, I didn't use the two space thing. "
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I don't want to think about how much younger than me you are :).
 
2 spaces.......... sometimes I forget to even do one! LOL


As for commas


Eggs, toast and orange juice.


But hey my grammar is shocking sometimes, so who am I to judge
 
I have never followed rules of grammar. Let's just say my high school English teacher spent much time passed out with headaches at her desk and I never went to college.

I have always only done one space after a period and the whole comma thing I probably have done it both ways, especially when I am typing on a computer.
 
I am pro Oxford comma and didn't even know it until today! Woot!

Eggs, toast, and orange juice.

Don't get me started on punctuation and grammar, lack of it I should say. I break every rule in the book. :giggle
My English teacher would cringe if she saw my run-on sentences and all of the other offenses I commit daily. :lmao

I will say that years of administrative work taught me to drop the double spacing, so I have been hip to that little "thing" for a while. Just think of all the thumb action I have saved by only spacing one time all these years. :rofl
 
I have broken the one-space habit successfully. Look, just did it!!

I think I usually do not use an Oxford Comma.
 
i doubt i will ever get away from two spaces after a period. ever. ever. ever. ever. EVER. ;)

i do #2 for commas; however, i also catch myself doing #1 because that is how i initially learned it.

i'm good with most except...ah... capitalization! :groan
 
Well I feel dumb, I have never even heard of this 2 space rule. I've only ever done a single space.

As for commas, number 2 is the way I was taught.
 
I've always been a two space "spacer" LOL and I was taught the oxford comma and always use it. I've known for a long time that 1 space is "ok" now but I don't think that's a habit I can break. :)
 
jenevang said:
I don't want to think about how much younger than me you are :).
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Jen, I'm an old lady! That's a rule from the AP Stylebook.


I just read some crazy articles about the double space. (I am such a nerd!) Turns out people are very passionate about it on both sides LOL! But I also found out that modern typefaces and word processing are better at spacing letters than old typewriters so that's mostly why the extra space isn't needed.
 
If you type two spaces on an iPhone, it replaces it with a period and then a space. That's how I learned that it was now one space. I adopted it because it's faster and the second space doesn't improve readability, IMO.

I am pro-Oxford comma. My main reason is because that follows the way I would say it out loud. "I love my older daughter *pause* my younger daughter *pause* and my husband." So two commas. If there's only one, then my inner voice reads it as "I love my daughter *pause* myyoungerdaughterandmyhusband." And that's just weird.
 
Angie4b1g said:
Did you know that 2 spaces after a sentence is no longer a thing? The standard is now 1. And no matter what I do, I can't break the habit.

All last semester I had to use Word to find/replace all 2 spaces to 1 space. It will be the death of me.

Also, are you for or against the Oxford comma?

Which one:

Eggs, toast, and orange juice.

Eggs, toast and orange juice.
Click to expand...

Funny you should bring this up. I just took Business English last semester and learned the rules although they did say that 2 spaces or 1 is personal choice. This term I'm taking Word 2010 and they're saying that since the default font is a 'proportional typeface' and is spaced more closely together, the extra white space is not needed.

And for the comma rule, if it's 2 or more words with 'and' you need to put the comma. At least that's what I learned last term ;)

Eggs, toast, and orange juice.
 
commas, are important

Let's eat Gramma!

or

Let's eat, Gramma!

and I am a 2 spacer...6 years of business typing (on a real old-fashion typewriter, no less)
 
I can not stop with the two spaces. At my age you just can't unlearn those muscle memories ;-) I'm a really bad grammar nazi about words, but commas and apostrophes don't bother me for some reason.
 
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