$ShowPossibleDep = mysql_query("SELECT NAME,DEPT_ID FROM DEPARTMENT"); if(mysql_num_rows($ShowPossibleDep) > 0){ echo " Available departments: ".mysql_num_rows($ShowPossibleDep); //echo " "; add this tag to next echo echo ' '; while($row = mysql_fetch_array($ShowPossibleDep)) { echo $row['NAME']; echo ' '; //or you can do this way //echo " "; //echo " "; appended in upper statement. } echo ''; //echo ; closed already(above statement). }