The rules of punctuation

[nickymanley]

Is there a governing body who dictate the rules of punctuation (e.g. once space after full stops or two)? I did a generic search on Google and it seems there are lots of different rules! I just want the 'main' set - is there one?

[Buenchico]

The 'rule' that two spaces are used after a full stop hasn't really got anything to do with punctuation. This is just a typesetting convention which has been adopted by the various bodies which set examinations in word processing. If it's word processing rules which you're really interested in, then this site (which advises California State University students on how to present a thesis) has the basics:
http://www.csulb.edu/library/thesis_manual/chapter_6.htm l

The basics of 'true' punctuation (rather than word processing rules) are available on many sites. (There's no 'governing body' but there are widely accepted standards). This one is designed for those who use English as a second language. For this reason, it keeps things simple:
http://esl.about.com/od/englishgrammar/a/a_punctuation.h tm

If these sites don't provide the information you require, just post again, providing some more information about the type of thing you wish to know.

Hoping this helps,

Chris

[Quizmonster]

There is no 'governing body', as Buenchico says above, but the recognised authority as far as British usage has been concerned for nearly a century - as updated, of course! - is Fowler's 'Modern English Usage'.
If you are serious about really understanding punctuation and lots more about the language, it'll be a worthwhile purchase. It's ISBN No. is 0-19-869126-2 and any good bookshop will either have it in stock or order it for you.

[Buenchico]

While I accept that 'Fowler' is the standard reference work, it's hardly light reading! I've got a copy on the bookshelf right here next to my PC but, if I'm seeking help with written English, I usually refer to its neighbour, the 'Longman Guide to English Usage'. It's a great deal more 'user-friendly' than Fowler!

Chris

[Quizmonster]

"Recognised authority"..."standard reference work"...not much to choose between these, Chris. Fowler is the biz...simple as that...in much the same way as The Oxford English Dictionary is a greater authority than Chambers, say.
I don't imagine anybody would expect a tome on punctuation to be "light reading", but - if only light reading is required - there's always Lynn Truss's 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves'.

[nickymanley]

Thanks guys for your responses - the particular punctuation I am interested in is regarding bullets and full stops. I am formatting a document at work and there are lots of headings with just a few words underneath that I am not sure you could call sentences - therefore do they have a full stop at the end or do I bullet it or do I leave it without a full stop (as it was given to me). For example, the heading is 'Materials' the 'sentence' that follows is 'Standard office materials' - I am never sure what to do! I looked at 'standards' for bullets but obviously they are mainly used in lists (and even then there are different opinions about whether to use a semi-colon after each item or not - why can't there be ONE standard that everyone uses!!).

[Quizmonster]

"The semicolon is a useful device for separating a list of items set out in consecutive (as distinct from columnar) form."

As you are suggesting creating a bulleted list, that would make your list columnar rather than consecutive. Accordingly, using semicolons to separate the items (lines) would be a mistake. Given that the items appear not to be sentences, just put a full stop at the end of the final item in the list.

The opening quote, by the way, is from Fowler.

[BigMac]

Agree on Fowler, Oxford Dictionary etc.

If you are at work and using bullet points, are they for a Powerpoint presentation? Convention (or at least most common usage) is to have NO punctuation at the end of each bullet point... unless one or more of the sets of text has more than one sentence or idea. In this case it's usual to use a semi-colon at the end of each bullet point, followed by an 'and' at the end of the penultimate bullet point and a full stop at the end of the final bullet point.

On spaces between sentences, after the full stop, the RSA exams always insisted on two spaces (it does make text easier to read) but most newspapers only ever use a single space - more words in any given column/page.

[fo3nix]

One may be interested in the book "eats, shoots and leaves." Very good!

Single spacing after a full stop is often known as french spacing.