The clause could be an afterthought, side comment, or explain circumstances. Parenthesisis a word or clause inserted into a text as an afterthought (or as extra information). While some rules related to grammar are steadfast, some seem to be more optional in nature. Parentheses are the quiet whisper of an aside, commas are the conversational voice of a friend walking by your desk, and dashes are the yowl of a pirate dashing into a fray. It is also possible to use dashes or parentheses (brackets).

Here we are focusing specifically on using commas and periods (and other punctuation) with expressions enclosed in parentheses. KS2 English: Inverted commas with Mr Smith After securing the top spot in the Super Movers Teacher Talent Search, Mr Smith's Brain Booster has landed! De-emphasize Comments with Parentheses Parentheses are used to enclose comments that turn away from the main idea of the sentence. Therefore, to avoid confusion, you will often see brackets (i.e., parentheses), commas, dashes grouped under the term parenthetical punctuationas opposed to parentheses.) is opinion or relates to the theme of the larger body of writing (paragraph, essay, news article). Example: He gave me a nice bonus ($500). (Note: The word parentheses is often used to mean brackets. The use of parentheses indicates that the writer considered the information less important—almost an afterthought. Commas could have been used in the first example; a colon could have been used in the second example. Commas, parentheses, and dashes are all vital tools for packing more information into a single sentence without sacrificing clarity.

Brackets, dashesand commasindicate parentheses (parentheses is the plural of parenthesis). I’ve enjoyed writing this guide, and—it goes without saying, I suppose—I hope that you, whoever you are, have picked up a trick (or two) to help you along. Using Commas and Periods with Parentheses This site addresses a number of punctuation issues, including punctuating with quotation marks, using the semicolon and colon, and deciding when to use the Oxford comma. The example below illustrates this point: Peter cleaned his … If the sentence is logically and grammatically complete without the information contained within the parentheses (round brackets), the punctuation stays outside the brackets. Parentheses are used to give additional information to the reader—information that would disrupt the flow of the sentence if written as a nonrestrictive clause. When a parenthetical statement falls at the end of a sentence, the placement of the terminal punctuation depends on whether the words inside the parentheses are a complete sentence. If material in parentheses ends a sentence, the period goes after the parentheses. Comma Before Parenthesis. It can function like a comma, parentheses, or colon, but creating subtly different effects in each case. If material in parentheses ends a sentence, the period goes after the parentheses. A parenthesis can be separated from the rest of the sentence by commas, dashes, or brackets (all called parentheses). (Note: The word parenthesesis often used to mean brackets.