I wonder,are there any rules in English ,that regulate the issues of spacing ?That is ,the punctuation marks are to be placed immediately after the last word-no space is required. However,the space is required after the commas,dots,questions marks etc …
does it make sense? I think, the text is easier to read if these simple rules are obeyed, however the vast majority of people simply ignores them…
Hi Alex, yes the punctuation rules also cover the spaces and of course a text is much easier to read if the spaces are in the correct places. It is interesting that many learners who ask how they can improve their English don’t follow the basic punctuation rules and try to invent their own instead. Interestingly enough, I see a lot of Americans leaving two spaces between sentences and I wonder if this is old-fashioned style or accepted standard.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: Two types of transportation[YSaerTTEW443543]
Hi
I never learnt special English rules for spacing.
Luckily, main rules (like the quoted one) are the same as in my first language - and I do it automatically (thanks to my strict school teacher :)).
As a matter of fact, sometimes I see something different and unusual to me - like such use of double hyphen:
and take it ‘as it is’ and without any cry 
But I myself don’t use it.
I was specifically taught that there must be two spaces after both a period (at the end of a sentence) and a colon when I took my typing course many, many moons ago and I’ve never changed this habit. However, that “rule” may well have changed in the meantime. One thing that drives me crazy is no space at all between sentences. Lots of Germans do this. Is/Was this taught in schools here, Torsten?
Amy
Hi Amy, I think leaving no space between a sentences is simply a bad habit that makes reading any text difficult. I can’t imagine that this was taught in any school. Maybe those Germans who are doing this have difficulties typing a text?[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: Sending a message[YSaerTTEW443543]
The Germans I know all have nice and understandable spacing 
however, one of my colleagues, for some reason, adds three spaces at the beginning of each line… looks very weird!