[Tex/LaTex] Is a period after an abbreviation the same as an end of sentence period

punctuationspacingtypography

Does latex do anything special with periods? If so, is there a way to differentiate end-of-sentence periods from periods indicating abbreviation?

Best Answer

There is the issue of end of sentence space vs. space between words. By default the first one is bigger.

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\noindent
e.g. this and that\\
e.g.\ this and that
\end{document}

In the first line the space after the 2nd period is typeset like an end of sentence space. In the second line the space after the 2nd period is typeset like a normal inter-word space:

spacing example (200%)

You can setup with \frenchspacing that the end of sentence space is not different from the normal inter-word spacing.

An \@ before a period sets up end of sentence spacing. This is needed, if the sentence ends with a one-capital-letter word.

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