How Do You Punctuate Parentheses In A Sentence?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Punctuation with parentheses is very similar to punctuation with quotation marks. If the information in the parentheses is a separate, complete sentence,

the period at the end of the sentence goes inside the parentheses

. We spent two hours at the zoo. (Most of us could have spent two hours watching the otters.)

Does punctuation go inside or outside of parentheses?

When a complete, independent sentence is entirely enclosed by parentheses,

the period goes inside the closing parenthesis

.

How do you use parentheses in a sentence?


Use parentheses to enclose information that clarifies or is used as an aside

. Example: He finally answered (after taking five minutes to think) that he did not understand the question. If material in parentheses ends a sentence, the period goes after the parentheses. Example: He gave me a nice bonus ($500).

Does the period go after parentheses?

In summary: If the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, then the sentence housing the parenthetical takes care of the punctuation—commas, periods, and

anything else will go outside the parentheses

.

How do you write parentheses examples?

When the “e.g.” passage falls at the end of the sentence, you can either

enclose it in parentheses

or set it off with a comma before “e.g.” But as before, if “e.g.” introduces an independent clause, use a semicolon because it’s likely you’ve formed another compound sentence.

How do you use parentheses in parentheses?

1.

Use brackets inside parentheses to create a double enclosure in the text

. Avoid parentheses within parentheses, or nested parentheses. Correct: (We also administered the Beck Depression Inventory [BDI; Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988], but those results are not reported here.)

How do you punctuate etc in parentheses?

When using “etc.” in parenthesis, you should use it in the same way as you would use it in a regular sentence: Example: I prefer healthy food such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, etc. Now if you use “etc.” in parenthesis at the end of a sentence, you will need

to put a “period” after the parenthesis

.

Should punctuation be inside brackets?

Summary: How to Punctuate Brackets

Always place full stops outside closing brackets unless the entire sentence is parenthetical, in which case the full stop goes inside. …

Use question marks and exclamation points inside brackets

as required. However, don’t forget to add a full stop after the closing bracket.

How do you use parentheses in an essay?

  1. Use parentheses around nonessential information or abrupt changes in thought. …
  2. If the information in parentheses requires a question mark or an exclamation mark, use the mark inside the parentheses only if the sentence ends with a different mark. …
  3. Use parentheses to clarify preceding words.

How do you use parentheses in a list?

  1. Use parentheses to enclose additional or supplemental information that clarifies or illustrates a point. …
  2. Use parentheses to offer a digression or afterthought. …
  3. Use parentheses to enclose numbers or letters introducing items in a list or outline.

Are parentheses brackets?

Brackets ( ) are also known as

parentheses (parenthesEs)

and usually used to show parenthesIs.

What does a parentheses look like?

A parenthesis is a punctuation mark used to enclose information, similar to a

bracket

. The open parenthesis, which looks like (, is used to begin parenthetical text. Parentheses are also called curved brackets, especially outside of the United States. …

Can you put parentheses within parentheses in math?


Avoid parentheses within parentheses

, or nested parentheses. Correct: (We also administered the Beck Depression Inventory [BDI; Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988], but those results are not reported here.)

What is parentheses and examples?

Parenthesis is

the use of a phrase, word or sentence that’s added into writing as extra information or an afterthought

. It’s punctuated by brackets, commas or dashes. For example, ‘his favourite team – whom he had followed since the age of five – was Rockingham Rovers’.

Can you start a sentence with a parentheses?

If your sentence starts with an opening parenthesis,

then what’s inside your parentheses is a complete sentence

. … That works, but I often recommend making the sentence inside parentheses a complete sentence on its own that follows the first sentence.

How do you use parentheses and brackets in a sentence?

  1. To explain further, correct, or comment within a direct quotation: …
  2. To alter part of a word, indicating necessary changes from its original form: …
  3. To replace parentheses within parentheses: …
  4. To indicate supplemental information within a sentence:

Can I use parentheses in APA?

APA Style uses

parentheses in references to present supporting information important for a work’s identification and retrieval

. Examples of information presented in parentheses in references include the following: report numbers. … volume numbers for books when the book does not have a separate volume title.

How do you write Washington DC at the end of a sentence?

Washington, D.C.,

often uses commas to set off the D.C. part

. If you follow this style, you have to use two commas, one before and one after, according to the major editing styles. So what do you do if the whole name is part of a hyphenated compound: “A Washington, D.C.-based think tank”? Drop the second comma.

Can you use parentheses in an essay?

Dashes and

parentheses should be used sparingly in formal academic writing

. Parenthetical statements especially should be avoided because if something is important enough to be in the sentence, it should be fully part of that sentence.

What are parentheses?

parenthesis

Add to list Share

. … When you use parentheses to set off material in a sentence, you say that the material is “in parenthesis.” Put something in parentheses if it’s a comment, an afterthought, or additional information that is possibly interesting but not essential to the subject.

Can you end a sentence with two punctuation marks?

In general,

you should not use more than one ending punctuation mark

(period, question mark, exclamation point) in a row. … If an abbreviation, like etc., ends a sentence, you should use only one period.

Should I use parentheses or commas?


Commas and parentheses are often used together

, but they serve separate purposes within a sentence. Thus, commas should be used with parentheses only if the sentence would require a comma without the parentheses. The example below illustrates this point: Peter cleaned his room before going out to play basketball.

How do you write nested parentheses?

Nesting parentheses should be done with

square brackets “([ ])”

. But since square brackets are usually used for citations, this is confusing. The answer is to eliminate all nested parentheses by appropriate rewording. (Dashes, otherwise not recommended, can have a use here.)

Can you put two sets of parentheses next to each other?


Parentheses should not be used in immediate proximity to each other

or within another set of parentheses; in the latter case, use brackets instead (or commas or dashes). … Avoid situating a complete sentence in parentheses within another sentence. Avoid using parentheses too frequently.

What is it called when you multiply two parentheses?

When an expression has two sets of parentheses next to each other, you need to multiply every term inside the first set of parentheses by every term in the second set. This process is called

FOILing

.

What are the punctuation marks?

There are 14 punctuation marks that are used in the English language. They are: the

period, question mark, exclamation point, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, brackets, braces, parentheses, apostrophe, quotation mark, and ellipsis

.

What is Bodmas rule in maths?

BODMAS rule is an acronym that is

used to remember the order of operations to be followed while solving expressions in mathematics

. It stands for B – Brackets, O – Order of powers or roots, D – Division, M – Multiplication A – Addition, and S – Subtraction.

How do you show parentheses?

The most common way to show parenthesis is

to use brackets within a sentence to add information for detail or clarification

. What is key to remember is that the sentence to which the parenthesis is being added should make grammatical sense whether the information in the brackets is there or not.

What are the parentheses doing in this sentence?


Parentheses set off extra information

(such as a writer’s remarks, an interruption, or a reference) from the rest of a sentence.

David Martineau
Author
David Martineau
David is an interior designer and home improvement expert. With a degree in architecture, David has worked on various renovation projects and has written for several home and garden publications. David's expertise in decorating, renovation, and repair will help you create your dream home.