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Small spacing mistakes-missing or extra spaces, or incorrect spacing around punctuation and hyphens-hurt readability and can change meaning. Use the short checklist and the rewrite patterns below to fix a sentence quickly.

Quick answer: the spacing rules to follow

One space between words. No space before commas, periods, colons, semicolons, question or exclamation marks. One space after those marks. No spaces around apostrophes or hyphens when they form a unit. Remove accidental gluing (Thecat → The cat) and accidental gaps (The cat → The cat).

Words: exactly one space between words.
Punctuation: attach punctuation to the preceding word; follow with one space.
Apostrophes/hyphens: bind them to the surrounding letters (cat's, cat-friendly).
Periods: use one space after a period in modern digital and print writing.

Core explanation: the three spacing errors you will see

Most spacing problems fall into three types: missing space (glued words), extra space (double spaces or space before punctuation), and incorrect spacing around joiners (apostrophes, hyphens). These are usually mechanical fixes.

Missing space: Pleasefind → Please find.
Extra space: double spaces or space-before-punctuation (cat ,)
Joiner errors: space before an apostrophe or around a hyphen (cat 's, cat -friendly)

Wrong: Thecat sat on the mat.
Right: The cat sat on the mat.
Wrong: The cat is tired.
Right: The cat is tired.
Wrong: The cat , then slept.
Right: The cat, then slept.

Spacing around punctuation (commas, periods, question marks)

Never put a space before commas, periods, question marks or exclamation marks. Use one space after them. If punctuation is followed by a closing quote or bracket, attach it to the preceding word and put the space after the closing mark if the sentence continues.

Wrong: I went to the store , bought milk.
Right: I went to the store, bought milk.
Wrong: He said "Yes" , and left.
Right: He said "Yes," and left.
Wrong: She arrived at noon .She left at five.
Right: She arrived at noon. She left at five.

Hyphenation and compound modifiers (no spaces around hyphens)

Hyphens join parts of a compound (cat-friendly, year-long); do not add spaces around a joining hyphen. En dashes and em dashes are different: spacing for dashes depends on style, but hyphens that join words should be glued without spaces.

When a compound modifier appears before a noun, hyphenate to avoid ambiguity (small-business owner vs small business owner).

No spaces: 'cat-friendly', 'well-known'.
Wrong to fix: 'cat -friendly' → 'cat-friendly'.
Wrong: The cat -related metric is wrong.
Right: The cat-related metric is wrong.
Wrong: 2020 -2021 results.
Right: 2020-2021 results (use en dash without spaces if style requires).

Apostrophes and contractions: attach, don't space

Apostrophes must be glued to the surrounding letters: cat's, it's, don't. A space before an apostrophe is almost always a typo. When a possessive follows a noun ending in s, follow your style choice, but never add a space before the apostrophe.

Wrong: The cat 's toys are missing.
Right: The cat's toys are missing.
Wrong: Its'not big enough.
Right: It's not big enough.
Wrong: You 're ready.
Right: You're ready.

How to fix your sentence: exact rewrite patterns

Apply these common repairs directly to a problematic sentence.

Glue fix: insert a space where two words are joined (Pleasefind → Please find).
Extra-space fix: collapse multiple spaces to one.
Punctuation gap fix: remove space before punctuation and ensure one space after.
Apostrophe/hyphen fix: remove space around the mark and re-evaluate hyphenation.

Rewrite:
Original: Pleasefind attachedfile. → Please find the attached file.
Rewrite:
Original: The cat ,which I'd adopted , is five years old. → The cat, which I'd adopted, is five years old.
Rewrite:
Original: The cat - friendly program starts Monday. → The cat-friendly program starts Monday.
Rewrite:
Original: Its'not the same. → It's not the same.

Try your own sentence

Check the whole sentence, not just a phrase-context usually clarifies the correct spacing.

Examples in context: work, school, casual (corrected)

Apply the quick fixes below to see how spacing errors appear in real messages.

Work
Wrong: Please findattached the report about the cat.
Right: Please find attached the report about the cat.
Wrong: See the cat,which was delivered yesterday.
Right: See the cat, which was delivered yesterday.
Wrong: The cat -related metrics are in the spreadsheet.
Right: The cat-related metrics are in the spreadsheet.
School
Wrong: Thecat is a subject in the biology paper.
Right: The cat is a subject in the biology paper.
Wrong: Many students notedthecat behavior.
Right: Many students noted the cat's behavior.
Wrong: The cat , a common pet, has been studied.
Right: The cat, a common pet, has been studied.
Casual
Wrong: OMG The catis so fluffy!
Right: OMG The cat is so fluffy!
Wrong: Hey, the cat 's sleeping on my lap.
Right: Hey, the cat's sleeping on my lap.
Wrong: The catstole my sandwich.
Right: The cat stole my sandwich.

Real usage and tone: when spacing rules can be intentionally bent

Exceptions are usually deliberate: design, poetry, or brand voice. Examples include extra space for layout, spaced letters for emphasis, or deliberate spacing in poetry. Before fixing unusual spacing, confirm it's intentional.

Poetry: spacing for rhythm or pause.
Design/branding: spaced letters or visual two-space choices for a specific layout.
Usage: Poetry: The cat - silent - waited by the door. (intentional)
Usage: Branding: T H E C A T (spaced letters as a graphic)

Memory tricks and quick fixes editors use

Use targeted searches and editor features to find spacing mistakes across large files quickly.

Search for double spaces: find ' ' and replace with one space after checking context.
Search for space-before-punctuation: patterns like ' ,' or ' .' and fix in bulk.
Show invisible characters in your editor to spot glued words (Thecat) or misplaced spaces (The cat 's).

Tip: Find ' ' to locate double spaces.
Tip: Find ' ,' to locate 'cat ,' mistakes in one pass.
Tip: Show invisibles to spot glued words visually.

Similar mistakes to watch for

Spacing errors often appear with run-on words, wrong dash vs hyphen use, capitalization issues caused by punctuation errors, and broken words (th e). Fixing spacing often fixes or reveals these other issues.

Run-on words: 'in stead' vs 'instead' or 'The cat.I' → missing space after period.
Wrong dash use: replacing hyphen with a space or vice versa.
Broken words: 'th e cat' should be 'the cat'.
Wrong: The cat.I fed it.
Right: The cat. I fed it.
Wrong: We run an on line campaign.
Right: We run an online campaign.
Wrong: A long -term plan.
Right: A long-term plan.

FAQ

Why does copy-paste sometimes remove spaces (Thecat)?

Copying from PDFs or poorly encoded sources can drop or glue spaces. Run a quick search for common glued words and restore spaces. A spelling/spacing checker that flags word-boundary errors helps.

Is it ever correct to put a space before a comma or period?

Not in standard English prose. Some languages or deliberate typographic choices use space-before-punctuation, but in normal writing remove that space.

Should I use one or two spaces after a period?

Use one space in modern digital and most print writing. Two spaces is a legacy typewriter habit and rarely required today.

How do I fix 'The cat 's' with a space before the apostrophe?

Remove the space before the apostrophe: change 'The cat 's' to 'The cat's'. Search for patterns like letter + space + apostrophe to correct them in bulk.

Fastest way to catch spacing mistakes in a long document?

Use Find for double spaces (' '), space-plus-punctuation (' ,', ' .'), and show invisibles in your editor. Run a grammar/spacing checker as a final pass.

Want to check a sentence now?

If you're unsure, paste the sentence into a grammar or spacing checker to highlight missing or extra spaces and get exact rewrites. As a quick proofreading pass, run the three searches above: double spaces, space-before-punctuation, and space+apostrophe.