Punctuation : Parentheses

The Brackets that are almost always used in writing are the round Brackets or Parentheses (…).

Round Brackets are used when the writer wants to indicate explanations and additional information or commends.

• Hamish was upset with Deepak and felt like giving him a piece of his mind (to cut him down to size) in the presence of the others. However, he refrained from doing so (he did not wish to precipitate matters).

Or they are used to show optional words that imply doubt or caution:

• There are many (hidden) dangers on the road ahead, and he knew this for sure.

The round brackets are also used to give statistical information or reference.

• The Second World War (1939-1945) was the bloodiest conflict in human history.

Square brackets […] are used very rarely. The usage is restricted to occasions when some additional information has been provided, often by some one other than the writer (usually an editor) of the original text, to clarify an obscure point or to add extra information that facilitates better understanding or ease of reading.

• Anil Ambani claims that Ambani brothers are not inheritors [of Dhirubhai Ambani’s legacy] but partners.

Parentheses are used to separate from main part of the sentence, a phrase or a clause which does not grammatically belong to it.

Examples:

• He gained from heaven (it was all he wished) a friend.

• He gave me his book (Born to win) two days back.

These are the most common Punctuation signs that new English readers would encounter on the highway to mastering English. Once you master the usage of these Punctuation marks, the written words would flow faster and more easily.



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