Questions tagged [spacing]
Questions about the use of whitespace characters
104
questions
0
votes
3
answers
119
views
Should there be a space after an em dash if the dash is used to cut off the end of a sentence and a new sentence begins afterwards?
Usually an em dash is used without any spaces on either side, especially when the punctuation is in the middle of a sentence. However, how should it be used if it were used at the end, such as when it'...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
66
views
Most elegant/correct spacing method for "/" with multi-word operands?
Suppose one wants to give alternative single words around a slash, like: alpha/beta. This is simple, and the convention seems to be no spaces.
But what if one wishes to give something like "BBC&...
- 439
0
votes
1
answer
42
views
The space or space (means universe)?
I have 2 sentences:
-There are billions of stars in space.
-There are billions of stars in the space.
and:
-Beyond the stars, the astronaut saw nothing but space.
-Beyond the stars, the astronaut saw ...
- 1
-1
votes
1
answer
56
views
When ending clause in a comma, which is followed by a colon, should there be a space in-between [closed]
Say that I am giving an introductory clause with a list of things, using the colon. If I also use a secondary clause, by way of a comma to explain the first clause, do I separate the comma and colon ...
- 244
0
votes
1
answer
147
views
Punctuating local area names
I'm writing an informational essay that includes a description of an organization called Shepherd Community Center, and they say they work primarily in the "near Eastside of Indianapolis." I'...
- 103
0
votes
2
answers
233
views
Where in CMoS does it specify spacing before a footnote? [closed]
In this answer, it is suggested that the Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) specifies whether spaces precede a footnote indicator. The main three choices I see being:
Here is no space.1
Here is a hair ...
- 631
0
votes
0
answers
579
views
Is it "clipart" or "clip art"?
What is a correct spelling - "clipart" or "clip art"?
Is there any difference in meaning?
May it be language specific, like American, British, Australian?
Maybe "clip-art"?
-1
votes
1
answer
160
views
Is double spacing after a period now a thing?
I’m not sure if it’s a new thing or that I just didn’t notice it before, but I’m noticing a lot of double spacing after periods (full-stops) lately.
Here’s a comment I found on reddit for example:
...
- 5,367
0
votes
1
answer
9k
views
Should commas *always* be followed by spaces?
When teaching and proofreading, I often come across examples of commas without spaces following them (e.g. "London,UK" or "apples,oranges,bananas"). In addition to correcting these, I would like to ...
- 3,504
0
votes
0
answers
38
views
should there be space between a sentence and question mark or not? [duplicate]
while asking questions in the sentence do we need to give space between question mark (?) and the sentence.
what is your name?
what is your name ?
which one is correct?
1
vote
1
answer
902
views
Is there a grammatically need to hyphenate the compound words "dumb f*ck" within a novel?
Would I leave the space, hyphenate it, or combine the two works like its similar, less aggressive counterpart: "dumbass"
The quote from my novel is from dialogue
"It's been six years, you dumb ...
- 152
2
votes
2
answers
508
views
Beesting or bee sting
A friend made a typo when writing "bee sting" and wrote "beesting" but apparently this is also a word according to Merriam-Webster.
Does anyone actually use "beesting" if so, is it a result of some ...
- 23
3
votes
2
answers
612
views
Word for using extra line breaks to improve readability
I just got a copy of Royal Skousen's The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text (Yale, 2009),
and was immediately struck by his implementation of what he calls "sense-lines":
that is,
the editor ...
- 378
2
votes
0
answers
1k
views
"Testbed" or "test bed"? [duplicate]
"A testbed is a platform for conducting rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies" (Wikipedia).
While Wikipedia seems to prefer "...
- 139
0
votes
2
answers
481
views
Parentheses within abbreviations
The example that I have is from South Africa. Chartered accountants here abbreviate their titles in emails to:
CA(SA)
This is meant to abbreviate "Chartered Accountant (South Africa)". I feel, ...
- 3
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What is the rule for spacing between words and the character &? [duplicate]
What is the rule for spacing between words and the character &? For example, do I have to space Espresso&Tonic - Espresso & Tonic, although I am talking about one drink made with an ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
52
views
When did 'some one' turn to 'someone'?
I was recently reading a book from sometime in the first half of the 20th century and I noticed that the word ‘someone’ was spelled separately as ‘some one’.
Was there an official change at some ...
- 441
-1
votes
1
answer
55
views
Does the word "foot" refers to something else different of a part of a body [closed]
I'm reading about astronomy and all that stuff and I found this phrase pretty interesting, is from the book "Is life out there" by Sara Seager and she makes an analogy with the impossibility of ...
0
votes
3
answers
239
views
Trade marks or trademarks?
What is the correct format to use when referring to trademarks in British English? Is "trademarks" generally preferable?
I've seen both used in different contexts, the UK GOV page uses "trade marks", ...
- 119
0
votes
1
answer
187
views
(un)conditional or (un-)conditional?
I want to write "conditional (mean imputation)" and "unconditional (mean imputation)" shorter, which of these 4 is the best way to do that? If multiple ways are correct, which is the most common (in ...
- 173
27
votes
2
answers
37k
views
"Filepath" or "file path"? [closed]
A path, the general form of the name of a file or directory, specifies
a unique location in a file system.
"Filename" is a compound, but how about "filepath"/"file path"? "Filepath" seems incorrect ...
- 398
2
votes
2
answers
10k
views
Can we use the wording "We can not only ... but also ..."?
Is the following wording okay?
He can not only do this, but also do that.
In this case, it seems that the writer is dividing 'cannot' into two words. Is that acceptable?
- 21
4
votes
4
answers
10k
views
"Webpages" or "Web Pages"?
Sometimes I found it written as "WebPages" and sometimes it is "Web Pages" ..
I'm confused should it be written as one word or two words ?!
- 231
2
votes
1
answer
714
views
Why is the noun "blacklist" (written without a space) in the dictionary, but not "whitelist"? [closed]
Checking Oxford Dictionaries Online, I find the noun blacklist, written as one word, and the noun white list, written as two. There is no black list defined as a compound written open, and there is no ...
- 39
11
votes
2
answers
28k
views
Should spaces be used between "<" or ">" and numbers or letters?
Should spaces be used between "<" or ">" and numbers or letters?
For symbols, what is right? P<10, P <10, P < 10 or P< 10?
For numbers, what is right? 4>2, 4> 2, 4 > 2 or 4 >2?
Is ...
- 119
1
vote
1
answer
176
views
In a statistical model context, "overfitting" or "over fitting"? [closed]
I have been writing a research proposal. In a particular part of the proposal, I talk about statistical methods that will be used to avoid "overfitting." This is a statistical concept describing a ...
- 23
3
votes
1
answer
56k
views
"high school", "highschool", or "high-school" [closed]
In English usage, should one use high-school, high school, or highschool? (Assume American English; I understand that the Brits call it secondary school.)
- 210
0
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Using a space between name initials [duplicate]
Does one need to put a space between initials of the first and the second names. Which one is correct: "Sincerely, J. D." (where J. D. means John Doe) or "Sincerely, J.D."?
1
vote
1
answer
2k
views
Correct spelling for the abbreviation "FPS" (frames per second) [duplicate]
Well-known game journalists TotalBiscuit and Jim Sterling use [the number of frames per second] fps instead of 30FPS or 30 FPS, without an intervening space between the units and the following units (...
- 398
0
votes
1
answer
223
views
Is it ever correct to write "doorlight" as one word?
Would it be proper to write "doorlight" without a space? If so, how is it different from "door light" in terms of its definition and usage?
I've mostly seen "doorlight" written to describe light ...
3
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Why is "a lot" written as two words even though "ahead" is written as one word?
So I know "alot" should be written "a lot" and I have seen this amusing post on the treatment: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.co.nz/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html
However, why ...
- 133
3
votes
2
answers
967
views
How is a misuse of punctuation spacing perceived by native British and American people?
I am a Frenchie and an English enthusiast. In my language, we use spaces before quotation marks, exclamation marks, and colons.
While I'm aware that this is not the case in English, there are times ...
- 1,208
5
votes
1
answer
67k
views
"Once in a while" OR "Once in awhile"? [duplicate]
1. Once in a while
OR
2. Once in awhile
Which is the correct phrase? I'm thinking it's the first one, but I'm unable to find out for certain.
"a while" vs "awhile" and ...
- 369
1
vote
1
answer
331
views
What is the error called when spaces are placed incorrectly?
He went home , but he forgot his phone .He returned to get it .
^ ^ ^
These are some examples, which nowadays get autocorrected by word ...
- 237
1
vote
1
answer
5k
views
Chatroom or chat room? [closed]
According to Wikipedia:
The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing.
Merriam-Webster lists chat ...
- 4,885
2
votes
1
answer
9k
views
Blogpost vs. blog post [duplicate]
Have I written a blogpost or a blog post?
I've seen both forms used but am not sure which is the "correct" one, if there's any.
- 521
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
Is there any difference between "anyone" and "any one"?
When I read books in English, I see sometimes there is a space between "any" and "one" and sometimes there is not any space. So, what is the difference between "anyone" and "any one"?
- 13
17
votes
2
answers
16k
views
Should there be a space in e.g./i.e. between a dot?
Should there be a space (thin space) in e.g./i.e. between a dot?
Taking in account that e.g. is shortening of exemplī grātiā, then one should use space between e.spaceg., is not it?
I believe that ...
- 333
17
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Why is "forward slash" not spelled "forwardslash"?
The phrase "forward slash" contains a space, while its equivalent "backslash" does not. This seems inconsistent; should "forwardslash" not be a valid word?
From Wikipedia I discovered that slash, ...
- 971
3
votes
1
answer
11k
views
touchscreen, touch-screen, touch screen? Merriam-Webster and Oxford disagree
I have searched but cannot find a definite answer on the correct to write "touch screen". Merriam-Webster says touch screen. Oxford says touchscreen. And random people around the internet say "touch-...
- 147
2
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Should Kelvin symbol have a preceding space?
I'm working on a lighting product catalogue with products from many overseas suppliers. In regards to colour temperature, some of them put a space character before Kelvin symbol, some not:
4000K, ...
- 167
23
votes
1
answer
277k
views
What's the difference between "every time" and "everytime"? [closed]
What's the difference between everytime and every time? I'm a little confused about them, they both seem to have same meaning. Excluding their spelling, are there any other differences between them?
2
votes
0
answers
3k
views
Should there be a space before and after an ampersand when writing numerals?
How should one write "one and two" in short form - 1&2 or 1 & 2? Are there any particular rules regarding this?
In context:
You may choose to do Information Technology Units [1&2/1 &...
- 6,435
4
votes
3
answers
42k
views
"However" vs. "how ever": one word or two?
I am writing a paper and stumbled upon this sentence of mine.
"The output remained consistently poor however the data was/were
analysed".
"The output remained consistently poor how ever the ...
- 1,471
3
votes
2
answers
11k
views
Do parentheses need spaces either side?
I should place parentheses after a space or without any spacing? Which one of below sentences is right?
We adopted DM (Data Mining) in this lecture.
We adopted DM(Data Mining) in this lecture.
- 135
1
vote
2
answers
2k
views
spacing between units in a scientific paper [closed]
Which one is the correct way of writing:
The sugar concentration was 20 g/mL or
The sugar concentration was 20 g/ mL
- 113
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
"Stockmarkets" vs. "stock markets"
I am having trouble with the difference between stockmarkets and stock markets — or should it be stock-markets? In some articles it is introduced as stockmarkets, but that term is not found in ...
- 121
-1
votes
2
answers
5k
views
"Web design" vs. "webdesign"
Suppose I want to use the word in a company's name, for example:
ABC Web Design
ABC Webdesign
Which one is correct? Should it be one word or two?
- 113
0
votes
0
answers
74
views
Why add extra space between a word and punctuation (e.g. a period, question mark, etc.)? [duplicate]
I was just wondering this because of noticing a lot of people I've worked with typed this way.
Examples:
Okay, that's great .
Thanks, Stephanie .
Was there anything else ?
I was wondering if ...
10
votes
4
answers
89k
views
"onto" versus "on to"
Should the single word onto or the two words on to be used here?
She held onto the cushion instead of holding onto the metal frame.
She was grabbing onto the seat cushion.
There's nothing ...
- 101