One Space or Two after Periods?

One Space or Two after Periods?

Do you insert one space or two after a period? Many people are surprisingly (even absurdly) passionate about their preference, yet this seemingly minor issue is not nearly as cut-and-dried as it may at first appear.  A Little Background on a Longstanding Debate The...
Punctuating with Parentheses

Punctuating with Parentheses

This site addresses a number of punctuation issues, including punctuating with quotation marks, choosing between parentheses and dashes, using the semicolon and colon, and deciding when to use the Oxford comma.  Here we are focusing specifically on punctuating with...
Colons (and How They Differ from Semicolons)

Colons (and How They Differ from Semicolons)

Recently I came across two expressions sorely in need of a well-placed colon. The first appeared in the Washington Post*: Although the vaccines remain remarkably effective, the virus has bountiful opportunities to find new ways to evade immunity. Most of the world...
Which or That? (And Punctuating All Relative Clauses)

Which or That? (And Punctuating All Relative Clauses)

Have you ever been stuck trying to decide whether to use which or that? While both pronouns can be used in other constructions, the confusion usually arises when they are being used as relative pronouns to introduce adjective (or relative) clauses. In the examples...