Parentheses ( () ) are punctuation marks used to give explanations, to do commentsaccessories, comments or reflections.
Examples:
- Cousin's (expendable) advice turned out to be what they did.
- He bought more bags and shoes (a lot of money) and returned home satisfied.
- As soon as he saw me, he asked (without any discretion, as usual) who would be promoted.
Quotes
Parentheses are also used to indicate names of authors, works and chapters related to citations.
Examples:
- "Imagination is more important than knowledge." (Albert Einstein)
- "Save august symbol of peace!" (Anthem to the Flag)
- "Everyone has the ability to be creative and each person has a different way of expressing their creativity." (Wechsler, 1998, p. 64)
Scenic Indications
Parentheses are also used in theater scripts.
Examples:
Character 1 (voice shaking) Who's there?
Character 2 (laughing) — Can't say. It is surprise!
Alternatives
And finally, parentheses are used to indicate word alternatives.
Examples:
- Dear Sir(s), we appreciate the contact.
- We ask for your understanding (s) Lordship (s).
Exercise
Use parentheses if necessary.
a) Tomorrow the books that I ordered about a month ago will arrive.
b) I have been ordering these books insistently for about a month.
c) The emotional speech got the audience standing up to applaud.
d) Screaming as usual, he asked me to bring two coffees.
e) “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light." Genesis 1:3
d) Screaming (as usual) he asked me to bring two coffees.
e) “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light." (Genesis 1:3)
