Parentheses
What are parentheses? Need help understanding what parentheses are and when to use parentheses? Check out our page and find our parentheses examples and learn how to successfully use parentheses in your own writing.
When to Use Parentheses
Parentheses are punctuation marks that serve a variety of purposes. Parentheses can set off nonessential explanatory information from the rest of a sentence or paragraph. Parentheses can also help identify items in a list and sources of information in a research paper.
Information within parentheses that is related—but not necessary—to the rest of the material in a sentence or paragraph can appear in different ways:
When to Use Parentheses: Complete Sentence Within Another Sentence
When the parentheses enclose a complete sentence that appears within another sentence, then
- the parenthetical sentence should begin with a lowercase letter. The first letter should only be capitalized if the first word is a proper noun.
- the parenthetical sentence should not have end punctuation unless the end punctuation is an exclamation point or a question mark.
Parentheses Examples:
When to use Parentheses Example #1) Sherry ran a 3:15 marathon (can you believe it?) this past weekend.
When to use Parentheses Example #2) We’re going to Monty’s (it’s a great place!) if you’d like to join us.
When to use Parentheses Example #3) Johnny is flying to New Orleans (he grew up there) next week.
Independent Complete Sentence
When the parentheses enclose a complete sentence that stands by itself, then
- the sentence should always begin with a capital letter.
- the sentence should have end punctuation that is placed within the parentheses. This is a common question among students, so in the case of a complete sentence you would place a period inside parentheses.
Parentheses Examples:
When to use Parentheses Example #4) We’re going to make turkey, potatoes, and ham for Thanksgiving dinner. (I was also thinking about making pies.)
When to use Parentheses Example #5) It would be nice if we could book the cabin for an extra week. (Can you see if that’s possible?)
When to use Parentheses Example #6) Mary and Dean finally sold their house. (I was afraid it would never sell.)
When to use Parentheses Example #7) Candace threw me a birthday party on Saturday. (It was such a nice surprise!)
Fragment Within Another Sentence
When the parentheses enclose a fragment that appears within another sentence, then
- the fragment should begin with a lowercase letter. The first letter should only be capitalized if the first word is a proper noun.
- the fragment should not have end punctuation unless the end punctuation is an exclamation point or a question mark.
Parentheses Examples:
When to use Parentheses Example #8) Paris (my favorite city!) is on our list of vacation destinations.
When to use Parentheses Example #9) Anne took the dog (the one with a broken leg) to the vet for a check-up.
When to use Parentheses Example #10) Rory said he would make a cake (a chocolate one) for dessert.
Numbers or Letters in a List
When numbers or letters appear in a list that is part of a sentence or paragraph, enclose the numbers or letters in parentheses.
Examples:
When to use Parentheses Example #11) I think we’re going to have to push back our move date because we still have to (A) pack everything into boxes, (B) load the boxes onto a truck, and (C) clean the house.
When to use Parentheses Example #12) To ensure she does well on the test, Tory is (1) studying independently, (2) meeting with a small study group, and (3) receiving instruction from a tutor.
When to use Parentheses Example #13) I have three requests: (1) update me with your work status, (2) make any suggestions for how we might improve our process, and (3) write up a summary of our discussion.
When to use Parentheses Example #14) Our tour group will (1) fly to New York, (2) land in London, and (3) board a tour bus that will drive us between towns.
Sources of Information
When you include quotations or paraphrased information in a research paper, enclose the source information in parentheses.
Parentheses Examples:
When to use Parentheses Example #15) The various experiments showed “a profound difference in results” (Chandler 209).
When to use Parentheses Example #16) According to Rubin, public opinion on the topic “changes greatly from year to year” (47).
When to use Parentheses Example #17) In their novels, writers of the 19th century “addressed many important social topics” (Stewart 422).
When to use Parentheses Example #18) Connor says that tiny houses offer “a simpler way of life for everyone” (16).