英语语法：127 How Many Spaces After A Period?

Grammar Girl here.

This week I have two topics for you: The number of spaces after a period at the end of a sentence, and whether you should use "who" or "that" to refer to people (and pets).

Now here's our first listener question.

<His friends believe it is antiquated to use two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence.>

Yes, the caller is correct and he's also right that a lot of people haven't heard about the change.

Two Spaces After a Period -- The Old Way

Here's the deal: Most typewriter fonts are what are called monospaced fonts. That means every character takes up the same amount of space. An "i" takes up as much space as an "m," for example. When using a monospaced font, where everything is the same width, it makes sense to type two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence to create a visual break. For that reason, people who learned to type on a typewriter were taught to put two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence.

One Space After a Period - The New Way

But when you're typing on a computer, most fonts are proportional fonts, which means that characters are different widths. An "i" is more narrow than an "m," for example, and putting extra space between sentences doesn't do anything to improve readability.

Notice how in this example, the "i's" and "t" take up much less space in the proportional font than they do in the monospaced font.
Although how many spaces you use is ultimately a style choice, using one space is by far the most widely accepted and logical style. The Chicago Manual of Style (1), the AP Stylebook (2), and the Modern Language Association (3) all recommend using one space after a period at the end of a sentence. Furthermore, page designers have written in begging me to encourage people to use one space because if you send them a document with two spaces after the periods, they have to go in and take all the extra spaces out.

I know it's a hard habit to break if you were trained to use two spaces, but if you can, give one space a try.

"That" Versus² "Who"

On to the next topic, @Ranix at Twitter asked me whether a dog is a who or a that. For example, should he write

A dog who wants your love...

or

A dog that wants your love...

First, let's talk very briefly³ about people. You can use the word "that" to refer to people, but "who" is the better choice (4).

She's the girl who teaches us grammar.
He's the boy who spilled lasagna last week.

(For more information on "who" versus "that" for people, see Grammar Girl episode #24.)

Now, on to pets. Bryan Garner⁴ from Garner's Modern American Usage says "that" and "which" are the appropriate pronouns to use for anything non-human, but that makes me wonder if he's ever had a dog.

I can't imagine referring to my dog as anything other than "who." My fish could be a "that," but my dog? She's definitely a "who." Perhaps someone else's dog could be a "that"--the dog that tore up my lawn--for example. But my dog is the dog who snuggles up to me at night.

The AP Stylebook seems to use similar logic¹ when it comes to personal pronouns and pets. For example, they state that it's OK to call an unidentified animal "it" or "that."

Earlier, we reported on a cat that was stuck in a tree.

But they note that once the animal has a name, it merits a "he" or "she." (5)

The firefighters rescued Fluffy⁵ from the tree. She rewarded them with a boisterous⁶ meow.

I believe it's a style choice, and I recommend "who" for pets who feel like part of the family, and "that" for animals that don't.

You'll find a full transcript⁷ of this podcast at quickanddirtytips.com, along with a bunch of other great Quick and Dirty podcasts. I'm Mignon Fogarty, author of the New York Times bestseller, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, and you can find me at Twitter and Facebook under the username GrammarGirl.

That's all. Thanks for listening.

 

1 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

2 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

3 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

5 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

6 boisterous   

adj.喧闹的，欢闹的

参考例句：

• I don't condescend to boisterous displays of it.我并不屈就于它热热闹闹的外表。
• The children tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.孩子们经常是先静静地聚集在一起，不一会就开始吵吵嚷嚷戏耍开了。

7 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。