The Typographical Generational Divide
For decades, typing classes taught students to place two spaces after a full stop before beginning the next sentence. This practice, a hangover from the era of mechanical typewriters, has been completely abandoned by modern typographers who agree that modern proportional fonts only require a single space. In recent updates, Microsoft Word took a firm stance on the issue, updating its grammar checker to treat double spaces as a grammatical error. If you still type with two spaces out of deeply ingrained habit, your document will instantly be littered with annoying blue squiggly lines.
How to Change the Grammar Checker’s Spacing Rules
If you refuse to change your typing habits, you can instruct Word’s grammar checker to accept two spaces as the correct standard, completely eliminating the blue warning lines.
1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click on the File tab in the top-left corner.
3. Select Options at the bottom of the left-hand menu.
4. In the Word Options window, click on Proofing in the left sidebar.
5. Scroll down to the section titled “When correcting spelling and grammar in Word.”
6. Ensure the “Writing Style” dropdown is set to Grammar & Refinements, then click the Settings… button next to it.
7. A long list of grammar rules will appear. Scroll down to the Punctuation Conventions section.
8. Look for the rule labelled Space Between Sentences.
9. Click the dropdown menu next to it and change the setting from “One space” to Two spaces (or select “Don’t check” to ignore the rule entirely).
10. Click OK twice to save your settings.
Using Find and Replace as an Alternative
If you prefer to type with two spaces because it feels natural, but you need your final document to conform to the modern single-space standard for publication, leave the grammar checker set to “One space”. You can ignore the blue lines while drafting. When you are finished, press Ctrl + H to open the Find and Replace tool. Type two spaces in the “Find what” box, type one space in the “Replace with” box, and click “Replace All.” This will instantly modernize your document’s typography in one click without forcing you to change how you type.