Originally posted by Ushgarak
Not wanting to sound tricky, Link... but you are only leaving single spaces after full stops. In fact, I think everyone does here, whether they want to or not.Harsh to accuse people of not doing something they can't do. I teach English, and that sure as heck is not a proper rule.
Sound as tricky as you want Ush. I'm not on these boards to teach, i'm on these boards to learn.
I don't know if I follow you completely, but are you talking about the space itself or the number of times you hit the space bar? After a sentence....I always hit the space bar 2 times, then start a new sentence.
I most certainly don't have a proper reason for doing things that way, It's just the way I was taught and the way I have grown accustomed to seeing it.
Let me test something really quick
I hate it when I'm wrong. I love it when I'm right.
I hate it when I'm wrong. I love it when I'm right.
I thought so, on a message board it's edited the same. But on a word processor it would appear differently. I put a double space after the 2nd "i hate....." sentence.
True, I've notice you aren't too critical on forum grammar. And I can't imagine how many classes you must have taken. Sometimes I wonder if English IS the hardest language to communicate. I know Spanish isn't too hard, but to write it in proper form is a bit difficult.....well, at least for me it is.
As you can see, Link, I did indeed mean the amount of times you hit the space bar- and as again you have also seen, it is impossible to double space here! Hence me saying that was a wee bit harsh.
As you get a grammar error if you double space on word processors (as you say, they make those spaces slightly longer anyway), and as there is no spacebar in handwriting- and as you simply cannot do it here!- I think the only place you could apply that 'rule' is in typewriting itself... so I don't think it is worthwhile calling it a rule at all, really.
Meanwhile... yeah, too many clases, I am working my way up the system. I am actually directly involved with the Government's drive to improve literacy standards in this country; my job involves helping those that the education system failed for whatever reason. So I know of whence I speak, but I tend to let bad grammar go around here, though I know it is something some people will not put up with.
Bonus points for anyone who can spot the grammatical error in the last few words there?
(to answer your question, btw- well, my Portuguese friend on my teaching course tells me that she's never seen a language harder than English. I think it is the hardest mainstream language- I think if we talk about ALL languages, then we'll find the Nordic languages are harsh...)
funny how some who have posted here, wrote with spelling mistakes and netspeak a few months ago
mostly newbies (to forums in general) write in a way no-one understands them. THEN after a few months they are 'regulars' claiming they hate such way of writing... not quite a good logic 👇
just be patient and most learn how to write eventually 😄
And the quote is attributed to Winston Churchill, who, when ebing picked up on that very flaw about ending a sentence with a preposition, reportedly retorted:
"That is the kind of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put."
Which would indeed be the correct way to put it (instead of just re-wording it was WD did)... and neatly went to show just how damn useless a lot of these rules an be.
Still, worth knowing... and I see it going on here all the time! Oh, how do I ever stay sane... surely all the transgressors should be shot at once?
Kudos to those of you with useful comments on that. NO bonus points would have resulted for actually knowing the rule in full as it would have made you as dull as I am.