Punctuation and typography

Typography

The purpose of this section is to explain how to write text correctly on a computer. At the outset, I want to tell you that these rules are not intuitive and especially that they change from one language to another. In English, these rules are not valid. In order to highlight these changes, each time the corresponding rule in English is indicated.

In typography, we say "une espace", it's a feminine word.

Simple signs

Simple signs are:
- comma ,
- dot .
- suspension points ...

Rule in French: no space before, one space after
Rule in English: the same

Double signs

Double signs are:
- semicolon ;
- colon :
- exclamation point !
- question mark ?
- dashes - ... -

Rule in French: One space before, one space after except for the semicolon where the space is optional.
Rule in English: no space before, one space after

Note: to avoid having a punctuation mark on the line, you can use the unbreakable space. It is formed in Word by the key combination [ctrl] + [shift] + [space bar].
Note 2: double signs are often a source of doubt, as their rule is different from one language to another.

French quotation marks

The French quotation marks are the « and the ». They can be formed on the keyboard with the [Alt 174] and [Alt 175] keys. Note that most good word processors put them automatically.
Quotation marks are the classic "...". They are also used in French when you want to make a quotation within another quotation.

Rule in French: One space before, one space after
Rule in English: No space before, one space after

Parenthesis and square brackets

- parenthesis (...)
- square brackets [...]

Rule in French: No space inside, one space outside
Rule in English: the same

The hyphen and the apostrophe

- hypen -
- apostrophe '

Rule in French: no space
Rule in English: the same