Comments on: Does “Mr” Take a Period?

By: hanan

hanan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:10:23 +0000

Mand, yes, I meant your use of “i”, you’ve got a point:):)

By: sherry roth

sherry roth — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:47:21 +0000

LOL Vic…the only advantage I can see to using all these periods (eg after Mr, Mrs, Dr etc) is that if you’re lucky and the stars are in proper alignment and the word-processing gods are in a good mood, the word AFTER the abbreviation-with-the-period will be capitalized automatically, so it might be a trade-off in terms of keystrokes. If you don’t put a period, you have to press the shift key for the next character (eg the “W” in Washington). If you put the period (eg after “Mr.”), your computer should capitalize “Washington” for you without any further effort or thought on your part. However, this is a double-edged sword, as there are times when you will NOT want the next word to start with a capital letter. I’m sure there are many cases, but one that comes to mind would be if you insist on putting periods in an acronym like VP, making it V.P., followed by a descriptor such as “of marketing.” So if your word processor automatically (and thoughtlessly) capitalizes the next character, you could end up with “V.P. Of marketing,” which looks really stupid. If, however, you just go with “VP of marketing,” you are much better off.

By: Vic

Vic — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:32:21 +0000

I am pleased to no end with this article. Typing a period after Mr is a pain, especially when writing a script. Now I am exonerated. Now Mr Smith can go to Washington and Mr T can pity some fool.

By: mand

mand — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:51:47 +0000

If you mean my use of ‘i’, Hanan, definitely don’t copy that. It’s my own quirk, partly ‘philosophy’ (why should ‘i’ deserve a capital?) and largely to save holding two keys at once with arthritic fingers. I do a capital ‘I’ in handwriting for the same reason – less finger activity! Think of it as an unusual speaking accent, not speaking but typing. ;0)

By: hanan

hanan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:02:44 +0000

Someone tell me please, what’s with the i and I?