Brackets (and how to use them)

So, those emoticon smiles: what else can they be used for?

Round brackets

Imagine the contents of round brackets (or parentheses) as an aside
that might be said behind your hand (an actor on a stage might anyway).

These punctuation marks come in handy to:

• include optional information

You don’t have much time left to finish your Christmas shopping (only six shopping days!).

• introduce an abbreviation or explain a term

At this time of year, many people suffer from Seasonal
Affective Disorder (SAD); although equally problematic during December
is pogonophobia (a fear of beards).

• cross-refer

If you’re wondering where to put punctuation around brackets, you’ll soon find out (see below).

To learn more about pogonophobia, see The Big Book of Phobias (p92).

• add authorial commentary (if appropriate to the context)

The effects of SAD can be quite debilitating (believe me).

• cover several possible eventualities

The Christmas e-bulletin should be well-received by its already tipsy reader(s).

Square brackets

But parentheses are not to be confused with square brackets. These can be used to:

• add an editor’s note or direction

Emphasis staff will be required to wear Santa hats to work throughout December [Catie to purchase these].

• clarify meaning in a quote without changing any of the original words

She said, ‘If you make me wear that thing [the Santa hat] to work, I’m quitting.’

In these cases, you can just replace the word(s) being clarified eg

‘I said: if you make me put on [the Santa hat], I’m quitting. Humbug!’

Punctuating brackets

It can be confusing working out where to put the punctuation around brackets (but we’re here to help):

• The first rule is quite straightforward. (If you are writing a
  full sentence inside them, the full stop – or alternative – should be
  inside the brackets.)
• But the full stop will be on the outside if the brackets contain only part of the full sentence (as these do).
• Put a comma outside the brackets (as demonstrated here), when those brackets appear at the end of a clause within the sentence.
• If the bracketed aside needs a question mark or exclamation mark, you’ll still need to add a full stop on the outside to complete
  the sentence (like this!).

Image credit: benjasanz / Shutterstock

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Author: Catie Holdridge

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Catie joined Emphasis with an English literature and creative writing degree and a keen interest in what makes language work. Having researched, written, commissioned and edited dozens of articles for the Emphasis blog, she now knows more about the intricacies of effective professional writing than she ever thought possible.

She produced and co-wrote our online training programme, The Complete Business Writer, and these days oversees all the Emphasis marketing efforts. And she keeps office repartee at a suitably literary level.