diff --git a/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/StudyAnswerPlaceholderExtendWordHandler.java b/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/StudyAnswerPlaceholderExtendWordHandler.java
index 210a8e766f7e..a31b28d523ee 100644
--- a/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/StudyAnswerPlaceholderExtendWordHandler.java
+++ b/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/StudyAnswerPlaceholderExtendWordHandler.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import com.intellij.openapi.editor.Document;
 import com.intellij.openapi.editor.Editor;
 import com.intellij.openapi.fileEditor.FileDocumentManager;
 import com.intellij.openapi.fileEditor.FileEditorManager;
+import com.intellij.openapi.util.Pair;
 import com.intellij.openapi.util.TextRange;
 import com.intellij.openapi.vfs.VirtualFile;
 import com.intellij.psi.PsiElement;
@@ -54,7 +55,7 @@ public class StudyAnswerPlaceholderExtendWordHandler implements ExtendWordSelect
   public List<TextRange> select(PsiElement e, CharSequence editorText, int cursorOffset, Editor editor) {
     AnswerPlaceholder placeholder = getAnswerPlaceholder(e, cursorOffset);
     assert placeholder != null;
-    int startOffset = placeholder.getOffset();
-    return Collections.singletonList(new TextRange(startOffset, startOffset + placeholder.getRealLength()));
+    final Pair<Integer, Integer> offsets = StudyUtils.getPlaceholderOffsets(placeholder, editor.getDocument());
+    return Collections.singletonList(new TextRange(offsets.getFirst(), offsets.getSecond()));
   }
 }
diff --git a/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/StudyUtils.java b/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/StudyUtils.java
index 99d184d14744..7ff572b9922f 100644
--- a/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/StudyUtils.java
+++ b/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/StudyUtils.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import com.intellij.openapi.ui.MessageType;
 import com.intellij.openapi.ui.popup.Balloon;
 import com.intellij.openapi.ui.popup.JBPopupFactory;
 import com.intellij.openapi.util.Disposer;
+import com.intellij.openapi.util.Pair;
 import com.intellij.openapi.util.io.FileUtil;
 import com.intellij.openapi.util.io.FileUtilRt;
 import com.intellij.openapi.util.text.StringUtil;
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@ import com.intellij.psi.PsiFile;
 import com.intellij.ui.JBColor;
 import com.intellij.ui.awt.RelativePoint;
 import com.intellij.ui.content.Content;
+import com.intellij.util.DocumentUtil;
 import com.intellij.util.ObjectUtils;
 import com.intellij.util.TimeoutUtil;
 import com.intellij.util.containers.ContainerUtil;
@@ -831,4 +833,18 @@ public class StudyUtils {
     }
     return FileUtil.getRelativePath(taskDir.getPath(), file.getPath(), '/');
   }
+
+  public static Pair<Integer, Integer> getPlaceholderOffsets(@NotNull final AnswerPlaceholder answerPlaceholder,
+                                                             @NotNull final Document document) {
+    int startOffset = answerPlaceholder.getOffset();
+    int delta = 0;
+    final int length = answerPlaceholder.getRealLength();
+    int nonSpaceCharOffset = DocumentUtil.getFirstNonSpaceCharOffset(document, startOffset, startOffset + length);
+    if (nonSpaceCharOffset != startOffset) {
+      delta = startOffset - nonSpaceCharOffset;
+      startOffset = nonSpaceCharOffset;
+    }
+    final int endOffset = startOffset + length + delta;
+    return Pair.create(startOffset, endOffset);
+  }
 }
diff --git a/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/editor/StudyEditorFactoryListener.java b/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/editor/StudyEditorFactoryListener.java
index 288bc157b012..a3f625f045be 100644
--- a/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/editor/StudyEditorFactoryListener.java
+++ b/python/educational-core/student/src/com/jetbrains/edu/learning/editor/StudyEditorFactoryListener.java
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import com.intellij.openapi.editor.event.EditorMouseAdapter;
 import com.intellij.openapi.editor.event.EditorMouseEvent;
 import com.intellij.openapi.fileEditor.FileDocumentManager;
 import com.intellij.openapi.project.Project;
+import com.intellij.openapi.util.Pair;
 import com.intellij.openapi.vfs.VirtualFile;
 import com.intellij.openapi.wm.ToolWindow;
 import com.intellij.openapi.wm.ToolWindowManager;
@@ -46,8 +47,8 @@ public class StudyEditorFactoryListener implements EditorFactoryListener {
       if (answerPlaceholder == null || answerPlaceholder.getSelected()) {
         return;
       }
-      int startOffset = answerPlaceholder.getOffset();
-      editor.getSelectionModel().setSelection(startOffset, startOffset + answerPlaceholder.getRealLength());
+      final Pair<Integer, Integer> offsets = StudyUtils.getPlaceholderOffsets(answerPlaceholder, editor.getDocument());
+      editor.getSelectionModel().setSelection(offsets.getFirst(), offsets.getSecond());
       answerPlaceholder.setSelected(true);
     }
   }