There is no space before a punctuation mark!

[NaeRolls]

Why do some people do this?

Example: My name is NaeRolls and I am in my forties .

It looks like a speck on the screen and I want to wipe it off!

And while I'm being petty, why do people sign off emails with 'Kind Regards'? It's not a heading. It should be 'Kind regards'.

And not 'Warm regards' either, which puts me in mind of sitting in some kind of yucky, warm, wet substance.

Lastly: 'Expecially'. I have a friend who is an educated professional who says this. I want to tell her so that she stops embarrassing herself in front of others, but I think she'll be mortified and I don't want to offend her 😅

Don’t ever visit France !

But it's correct in France (although I don't know why). Why do people take it upon themselves to randomly alter punctuation conventions? (Obviously I'm not referring to people like Bernadine Evaristo or James Joyce.) I find it intensely irritating.

Are there two spaces after a full stop or one? I do two but I think it’s old fashioned now

I still leave two spaces after a full stop as taught in my RSA typing exams in 1980.

I was taught that after a full stop there should be three spaces and after a semi-colon there should be two. Of course no one bothers today but they did when I was young. I remember mentioning it to a grandson after reading something he was submitting and he had never heard of it.

Ps see I haven’t bothered 🤣😏

One of my colleagues says “well, to be pacific “ !!!!! How can she not know?!?!? 🙈🙈🙈

There used to be a space before an exclamation mark or a question mark at the end of a sentence in English. You see it in old books. I’m not sure when or why it changed.

Sometimes an exclamation mark doesn’t read well when it comes straight after a double ‘l’ (Jill!). A small space aids reading sometimes.

It’s two when I learnt to touch type ** years ago!

If you’ve seen it in a post of mine it’s because I’ve edited or corrected predictive text and the period has moved and I can’t be bothered fixing it. The rest is just whatever, I figure they’ve just mistyped or changed something.

I often see comments here written , like this , it's really jarring , same for the ones....written....like this.......

Why?!

I do hate ect though!! It’s etc!

Really interesting comment. What makes it okay for use by Evaristo or Joyce but not Mike down the road?

It is discusting.
No it is disgusting!
Don’t get me started!

As this is a safe space for appalling pedantry I have to point out there is a punctuation mark preceded by a space - albeit one that's getting rarer - that is nevertheless quite pleasing

I'm with you on the exclamation mark.

My bugbear is multiple commas instead of a full stop,,,,,,. Where in the depths of hell did that spring from? Also ridiculously long ellipses. There are only THREE dots in an ellipsis. Using seven does not denote a longer pause. It’s THREE!

The space between the end of a sentence and a full stop is most likely an error from autocorrect or similar.

Getting miffed about ‘Kind regards’ assumes everyone has learnt UK English. I was taught something else in my English speaking country. I have worked with many Europeans who sign off with the English translation of their country’s sign off. It’s a bit rich to assume everyone should know and follow UK rules exactly…

I think it's the punctuation of 'kind regards' rather than the expression itself that's the issue here.

Kind regards.

Joan Smith

OR

Kind regards

Joan Smith

The two spaces after a full stop rule is out of date. I learned to type on a typewriter and it was something to do with the size of capital letters after a full stop (I think) which isn’t an issue now so one space is correct. If I’m reviewing or editing a document with two spaces I do the “replace all” so it looks right 😊

Ahh - I read it as the OP being unhappy with the capital R (Kind Regards instead of Kind regards) and people using alternative sign offs such as Warm regards.

I should say my grammar and spelling is not the best, in case anyone picks up on any mistakes in my comments!

You’re probably right! I just noticed the period and then lack of period and thought that was the issue.

I think OP was wondering why people capitalise the r in regards.

Agreed, OP.

Why am I also regularly seeing a comma between the subject and the verb? Has anyone else noticed people doing this? The snob in me thinks it's people who really don't know what they're doing but think using punctuation makes them look more intelligent.

I would say there are a few factors. One is the reason why John Cage can compose 4'33", whereas if you handed in a blank score for your GCSE music exam you would fail that section. Secondly, if I choose to read a novel by Joyce or Evaristo I have chosen to be challenged, to be made to think. I do not want to have to think and spend time deciphering when Mike down the road posts on Facebook advertising a "Chester,, draws for sail !" Thirdly, language (including punctuation) is about clear communication and part of that is consistency. If Joyce or Evaristo decide to eschew punctuation it is a conscious choice based on a thorough understanding of how language works and they will be using it systematically rather than randomly. So basically I think you should understand the rules before you decide to break them.

Or I could just be a snob...