Grammar Rule: Parentheses and Brackets

Parentheses:

Parentheses are round brackets ( ). They are similar to commas as they can expand on an afterthought, can provide more information, and may be used as an interrupter which can change the style of writing. As well parentheses can be used to clarify or remark on what has previously been said. When using parentheses you are able to remove the words from the sentence and the main point/topic would still get across perfectly fine. Additionally, when using periods the period would always go outside the parentheses unless the entire sentence is in the parentheses.

Brackets:

Brackets are the squared brackets [ ]. You are able to use brackets in technical manuals, to make a remark, clarify, and/or further explain what was intended by the original speaker in various forms of literature. When there is a quotation error or grammatical mistake you would use the word sic in brackets to show that it came from the original speaker. Sic in Latin means “This is exactly what the original material says.” Brackets may also be used inside parentheses to indicate something that is dependant to the dependant clause. Finally, with brackets the periods always go on the outside of the square brackets.

Examples:

“Jordan Leigh (last year’s runner up) is expected to win the long jump finals.”

This example demonstrates how “last year’s runner up” adds more information to the sentence and if it were to be removed the point of the sentence would still get across.

“She [Angelina Jolie] is a very kind person.”

This shows how “She” was not defined at first, but the brackets clarify what was originally intended which is useful since you may have never known what “She” was referring to.

“I really like you’re [sic] pants, where did you get them?”

The [sic] in the sentence allows the reader to see that the grammatical error “you’re” was what the original speaker said which shows that it was part of the original material.

References:

https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/parens.asp

Straus, Jane, and GrammarBook. “Parentheses and Brackets.” GrammarBook.com | Your #1 Source for Grammar and Punctuation, Jane Straus/GrammarBook, www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/parens.asp.

https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/brackets-and-parentheses/

“Brackets and Parentheses | English Grammar.” EF Blog, EF Education First Ltd., www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/brackets-and-parentheses/

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/punctuation/parentheses-and-brackets

Oxford University Press. “Parentheses and Brackets ( ) [ ] | Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English, Oxford Dictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/punctuation/parentheses-and-brackets.

https://www.dictionary.com/e/parentheses/

Dictionary.com. “What Are The ( ) { } [ ] And ⟨ ⟩?” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, 21 Aug. 2018, www.dictionary.com/e/parentheses/.