Brackets are punctuation marks used to enclose supplementary or explanatory information that is additional to a main statement without changing its overall grammatical completeness.
What Are Brackets and How Do They Work?
Brackets, in common with a pair of commas or a pair of dashes, are used to enclose information that is in some way additional to a main statement. The information so enclosed is said to be in parenthesis and the pair of brackets enclosing it can be known as parentheses. The information that is enclosed in the brackets is purely supplementary or explanatory in nature and could be removed without changing the overall basic meaning or grammatical completeness of the statement.
Brackets, like commas and dashes, interrupt the flow of the main statement but brackets indicate a more definite or clear-cut interruption. The fact that they are more visually obvious emphasizes this. Material within brackets can be one word, as in the following sentences:
In a local wine bar we had some delicious crepes (pancakes)
and
They didn’t have the chutzpah (nerve) to challenge her.
What Forms Can Material Within Brackets Take?
Material within brackets can also take the form of dates, as in the following sentences:
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) wrote Treasure Island.
and
Animal Farm was written by George Orwell (1903–50).
The material within brackets (see 1) can also take the form of a phrase, as in the following sentences:
They served lasagne (a kind of pasta) and some delicious veal.
and
They were drinking Calvados (a kind of brandy made from apples).
The material within brackets can also take the form of a clause, as in the following sentences:
We were to have supper (or so they called it) later in the evening.
and
They went for a walk round the loch (as a lake is called in Scotland) before taking their departure.
The material within brackets can also take the form of a complete sentence, as in the following sentences:
He was determined (we don’t know why) to tackle the problem alone.
and
She made it clear (nothing could be more clear) that she was not interested in the offer.
How Do You Punctuate Sentences Containing Brackets?
Sentences that appear in brackets in the middle of a sentence are not usually given an initial capital letter or a full stop, as in the following sentence:
They very much desired (she had no idea why) to purchase her house.
If the material within brackets comes at the end of a sentence the full stop comes outside the second bracket, as in the following sentence:
For some reason we agreed to visit her at home (we had no idea where she lived).
If the material in brackets is a sentence which comes between two other sentences it is treated like a normal sentence with an initial capital letter and a closing full stop, as in the following sentences:
He never seems to do any studying. (He is always either asleep or watching television.) Still, he does brilliantly in his exams.
Punctuation of the main statement is unaffected by the presence of the brackets and their enclosed material, except that any punctuation that would have followed the word before the first bracket follows the second bracket, as in the following sentence:
He lives in London (I am not sure exactly where), though his family live in France.
What Are the Different Shapes of Brackets?
There are various shapes of brackets. Round brackets are the most common type. Square brackets are sometimes used to enclose information that is contained inside other information already in brackets, as in the following sentence:
(Christopher Marlowe [1564–93] was a contemporary of Shakespeare).
Square brackets are also sometimes used to enclose information that is contained in a piece of writing where round brackets have already been used for some other purpose. Thus, in a dictionary if round brackets are used to separate off the pronunciation, square brackets are sometimes used to separate off the etymologies.
Square brackets are also used for editorial comments in a scholarly work where the material within brackets consists of an editorial comment or expanation within a quotation by another author. They can also be used in scholarly writing to indicate words or phrases that have been altered by the author in a quotation by another writer.
Key Takeaways
- Brackets enclose supplementary or explanatory information that is additional to a main statement.
- Material inside brackets can be a single word, dates, a phrase, a clause, or a complete sentence.
- When brackets appear at the end of a sentence, the full stop goes outside the second bracket.
- Square brackets are used for nested parentheses, dictionary etymologies, and editorial comments.
Quick Practice
1. How should a full stop be placed when a bracketed sentence comes at the very end of your main statement? Write your answer in the comments below.
2. What type of brackets should you use when enclosing information already inside another set of round brackets? Leave your response in the comments.
Frequently Asked Questions About Brackets
What is the main purpose of brackets in English grammar?
Brackets are used to enclose supplementary or explanatory information that is additional to a main statement without changing its basic meaning.
Where does the full stop go when brackets end a sentence?
If the material within brackets comes at the end of a sentence, the full stop comes outside the second bracket.
When should you use square brackets instead of round brackets?
Square brackets are used to enclose information contained inside other information already in brackets, for dictionary etymologies, or for editorial comments in scholarly works.