Revised as of
24 Mar 2023
Most everyone gets the period right. In fact, the biggest problem most writers have is still inserting two spaces after the period before starting the next sentence.
Back when we used typewriters, it was necessary to insert those two spaces between sentences to help distinguish one sentence from the next. With computers, they’re coded to add an extra bit of space, so you don’t need to.
One self-editing tip everyone can easily do is use Find > Replace to search out “._ _” and replace it with “._” (the single underline represents a blank space).
The Properly Punctuated explores . . .
. . . the proper use of quotation marks, commas, semicolons, colons, ellipsis, etc., including how to properly mark dialog, ahem. As Properly Punctuated is in no way complete, I would appreciate suggestions and comments from anyone on punctuation with which you struggle or on which you can contribute more understanding.
If you found this post on “Period” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Period, . | |||||||
| Punctuation: . | |||||||
General Definition: Indicates the ending for a sentence.
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| Always Use a Period with: | |||||||
| End of Sentence | Rule: A period always ends a sentence, unless of course it’s a question or an exclamation or an ellipsis or . . . There is no space between the last letter and the period. Use one space between the period and the first letter of the next sentence.
Exceptions are sentences ending with an ellipsis, an exclamation mark, a question mark and unexpected others. |
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There will be a test on Monday.
Leave the building in an orderly fashion. Mary played with the kittens this morning. Joey played with the kittens all afternoon. |
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| Sentence Ends with an Abbreviation | Rule: If the sentence ends with a punctuated abbreviation, that period is enough to end the sentence. Never use a double period. The exceptions are if the sentence ends with a question mark or an exclamation mark. | ||||||
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Did you get your Ph.D.?
I understand that you got your Ph.D. You got your Ph.D. . . . You got your Ph.D.! |
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| Sentence Ends with an Indirect Question | Rule: Use a period at the end of an indirect question. | ||||||
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Why he can never pick up his socks, I will never understand.
I wonder why Helen is always late. |
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| Run-in Subhead | Rule: Use a period to separate a heading that is run-in at the beginning of a paragraph.
CAUTION: Be aware that various style guides require that this subhead by distinguished from the paragraph text with styles ranging from italics to bold to a combination of bold and italics. It should also use sentence-style capitalization and use that period to finish the “sentence”. |
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| APA & MLA | Rule: A 3rd level run-in subhead is:
A 4th level run-in subhead is:
, ending with a period. A 5th level run-in subhead is:
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| Chicago Turabian |
Rule: A 5th level run-in subhead is:
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| Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) | Rule: A 2nd level run-in subhead is:
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| Society for American Archaeology (SAA) | Rule: A 3rd level run-in subhead is:
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| Inside Brackets or Parentheses | |||||||
| End Sentence Inside Brackets or Parentheses | Rule: If the entire sentence is inside brackets or parentheses, the period goes inside. | ||||||
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Mary ate the whole bag. (She loves marshmallows.) | ||||||
| Phrase Inside Brackets or Parentheses | Rule: If the phrase is inside brackets or parentheses AND is part of a sentence, the period goes outside. | ||||||
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Mary ate the whole bag (of marshmallows). | ||||||
| Person’s Initials | Rule: In using a person’s initials, add a period immediately after each letter, only adding a space after the last initial. | ||||||
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E.E. Cummings J.D. Robb J.R.R. Tolkien |
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| Sometimes Use a Period with: | |||||||
| Abbreviation | Rule: In the U.S., most abbreviations end with a period. Some can go either way, i.e., PhD.
NOTE: If the abbreviated word ends the sentence, the period at the end of the abbreviation is enough; don’t add a second period. Of course, if the sentence is a question or an exclamation, then do add the appropriate ending punctuation. If the sentence ends with an abbreviation AND an ellipsis, use four periods. |
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| Personal Title | Rule: In the U.S., abbreviated titles end with a period.
In Britain, titles usually leave off the period. |
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| Acronym | Rule: Acronyms were once required to use a period after each letter, but this is falling by the wayside. Verify how that organization prefers to style its acronym by checking with their website. | ||||||
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| Lists | Caution: Do not use at the end of list items in a vertical list unless you have more than one complete sentence in that item. | ||||||
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| Never Use a Period with: | |||||||
| Double Period | Rule: Never use a double period to end a sentence. | ||||||
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The study was funded by Mulvehill & Co. | ||||||
| Titles Headings Addresses Signatures Datelines |
Rule: Never use a period after chapter titles, any kind of headings, short captions, datelines in correspondence, signatures, or addresses (Chicago, 6.15). | ||||||
| Chapter 6 The -ing Endings Two Theta (degrees) January 4, 2016 George Jones 1234 Main Drive Anywhere MO 66666 |
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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Properly Punctuated posts on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, Word Confusions, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Period
Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.
Burckmyer, Becky. Awesome Grammar. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press, 2008. <https://amzn.to/3HT5NSX>. Print.
Chicago Manual of Style. Ed. 15. University of Chicago Press: 2003. <https://amzn.to/3JWIwSo>. The 17th edition is the most recent. <https://amzn.to/3JXugJ4>. Print.
Pinterest Photo Credits
Antsy feels like Sisyphus rolling that “boulder” up the hill.
