Period

A period is a full stop.  It marks the end of a sentence.  It marks the end of an idea or a thought.  It marks the end of an action.  After a period, something entirely new begins.

Put a space after the period

Punctuation marks can be small things, and may be difficult for the reader to notice (particularly in handwriting); to make them more noticeable, punctuation marks are followed by a space. (The only exception to this rule is the apostrophe, which tends to come within the word, so it is not followed by a space). Some writers prefer to use two spaces after a period. This method is generally acceptable for APA format, but not in MLA format. Modern writing standards permit one space after the period; this may be the safest format, unless otherwise specified.



Incorrect: As a table involves a flat,solid surface,it would be difficult to put books in a table.More likely,books would be put on the table,or in a bag.

It is obviously difficult to read this sentence. One space should be added after each comma, and one or two spaces may be added after the period.



Incorrect: Matthew looked at Martha;he’d been expecting her to come up with a scathing remark–something about his work ethic,perhaps.She said nothing.

One space should be added after the semi-colon, before and after the hyphen, and after the comma. One or two spaces may be added after the period.

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