Not Your Grandma’s GrammarAs if it isn’t enough that computers have influenced just about every area of our lives, you’d think that something as sacred as English language would remain immune to technology’s pressures. Not so. You may not need to learn new rules of grammar as often as you need to update your computer’s RAM, but tweaking your grammar skills will make you look more professional, and you can impress your friends and colleagues with some cutting-edge reasoning.
SPACED OUT One or two spaces between sentences after a period?
Unlike individual letters in typewriters, which all take up space of one character, computerized lettering allows for spacing differences depending on size of letter or punctuation mark. Hence, an m or an H is wider than an I. A period takes up less space than any letter so one space after a period on computer creates a large enough gap to eye to indicate end of a sentence.
Computer programmers changed this rule, not grammarians or English teachers. The battle is still being waged, but I think programmers will win.
QUESTIONABLE MARKS Quotation marks and punctuation.
In Grandma's day, a period used with quotation marks followed logic. Examples: Myrtle said word "darn". The period went outside quote because only last word was in quotation marks, not entire sentence.
Myrtle said, "I would never say that." The period went inside quotation mark because entire sentence is a quote.
Today (actually for last 30 years or so), period always goes inside quotation mark. Example: Myrtle said word "darn."