July 29, 2008
Put it in parentheses (please)
Next in our series on the proper use of punctuation marks is that curved couplet, parentheses (who doesn’t love this digression-inducing duo?).
Following are some of the most common things that should be put in parentheses:
Information that is not essential to a sentence
Anyone who loves dark chocolate (myself included) was thrilled to learn of its health benefits.
A word or phrase that clarifies an ambiguous pronoun
John and Andy enjoyed their summer vacations.
“He (Andy) traveled to visit his family,” she explained.
A word or phrase that translates technical and obscure terms
The man was diagnosed with glioblastoma (brain tumor).
Nicknames
Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson
Location
She writes for the Auburn (Mass.) News.
A note on punctuation
If the copy in parentheses appears within a sentence: Do not use a capital letter or period to punctuate that copy, even if the copy is a complete sentence. However, feel free to use a question mark or exclamation point when appropriate.
See the first sentence of this post for an example.
If the copy in parentheses is written as a separate sentence: Punctuate it as if it were a separate sentence.
The couple traveled to Hawaii to celebrate their 25th anniversary. (You may recall that they went there on their honeymoon.)
See also:
- Read this post about exclamation points!
- The colon: an unappreciated mark with an unfortunate name
- Save the apostrophes!
Filed by rebecca at 12:19 pm under Grammar guide
I always wondered how that worked. Thanks Beck (jerk)!
You’re welcome, D. I’m happy to spread the grammar love. (Now leave me alone!
)
Were you reading something that prompted this?
I most often find that people confuse comma, dash, and parenthetic use.
steph: LOL. I swear just read your post now! Excellent use of parentheses, by the way. But what else did I expect from a copyeditor?
Well, but when I read your post, I thought, gee, I hope I’ve been using mine right! Copyeditor or not, I still make the silliest mistakes sometimes!
Hahaha! Holy moly, did I EVER use parentheses! All over the place!
steph: LOL. you really did use them A LOT.
Great post! When it comes to writing for clients the proper grammar switch turns on effortlessly. However, when I look at my blog posts I am sometimes horrified by the things I write! We all need these reminders so that the “switch” does not ever turn off by accident (or laziness).
Thanks, Karen — and thanks for dropping by! I think we writers all benefit from these little grammar refreshers every now and again — and of course, so do our clients!
Your post made me realize that parentheses are really overlooked in discussions about punctuation (and I happen to be really fond of them). I like when they’re used to generate a unique writer’s voice, as when a writer uses them frequently to insert asides into the text.
Melissa — I’m with you: I think parentheses are a great way for writers to get their individual voices heard.
Thanks for the tips.
I always get mixed up with punctuation in parantheses.
The sentence right now, for example (where does the period go after the question mark?).
Next post, explain semi-colons.
(I can never get those little bastards right!)
@Friar: Nice work with the parentheses, question mark, and period. I wonder how many punctuation marks one can use in a row (while staying grammatically correct). Sounds like a challenge …
Yikes - the dreaded semicolon. I’ll tackle it next week.
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At least we’re not writing in French.
With the accents aigus and accents graves, and having to know the noun’s #@$&! GENDER. Not to mention deciding which is the 126 different tenses to use to conjugate the verbs.
(I used to know how to do that shit…but my brain mercifully control-alt-deleted that part of my RAM)
@Friar: Funny you bring up French … I actually majored in French in college (double major with English). I loved it — and I was pretty good at it too! But since I haven’t used any French since I graduated, I, like you, have lost most of it.