A period is a punctuation mark used to indicate the end of a sentence or complete idea. It can also be used for abbreviations and ellipses. The placement of a period within a quotation can vary. Only one space is now used after a period in typed English.
A period is a punctuation mark used in written English and many other languages to indicate the end of a sentence or the conclusion of a complete idea. Grammatically speaking, it is used to mark the end of a clause which is not directly related to another clause. It can also be used in a number of other settings in written language, such as indicating an abbreviation and in forming an ellipse. The placement of a period within a quotation at the end of a sentence and the number of spaces used after that period can vary depending on the author’s format and stylistic preferences.
Also called a “period,” a period is one of the most common punctuation marks in English, and it’s also one of the easiest marks to use. A period is generally used at the end of a sentence, as long as that sentence is not a question and is not intended to make an exclamation. For these purposes, the question or question mark and exclamation mark are used instead. A simple clause usually ends with a period, although other signs can also be used to join two or more clauses, such as commas and colons.
The period may also be used in some other settings within the English language, although these may vary slightly. This trademark is typically used after an abbreviation, such as “Co.” for “company”, “Sen.” for “senator” and “Dr.” for “doctor”. In Standard English, this usage doesn’t always apply when the abbreviation begins and ends with the same letters used to begin and end the full word, such as “doctor.” It can also be used to form another sign called an ellipsis, which consists of three periods together “…” and usually indicates an incomplete thought.
There is some debate and personal preference over the use of other punctuation marks and spaces with a full stop in typed English. Previously, when using a typewriter, it was standard practice to create two spaces after the period at the end of a sentence. This allowed enough space to fully indicate the separation between sentences, rather than between two words. Word processing programs and computer printers, however, have different natural spacing and so today only a single space after a sentence is typically used. Likewise, the period when used with a quote at the end of a sentence can go inside the quotation marks or outside of them, depending on a writer’s preference and the style he or she is using.
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