{"id":7495,"date":"2020-10-02T10:25:45","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T14:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/?p=7495"},"modified":"2020-10-02T10:09:05","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T14:09:05","slug":"using-parenthesis-in-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/using-parenthesis-in-english\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Parenthesis (In English)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image Courtesy of Pixabay, CCO<\/p><\/div>\n

In my capacity as an editor, I often find that the parenthetical statement<\/strong> is overused and misunderstood. And the use of parenthesis<\/strong> as a form of punctuation<\/strong> seems to perplex even the best writer. Let\u2019s see if we can fix that, shall we?<\/p>\n

What is a Parenthetical Statement?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A parenthetical statement, often called a parenthetical clause or parenthetical phrase, is a statement made inside another statement. It is an aside, offering extra information to the reader without changing the thought of the larger sentence. It is the equivalent of grabbing the reader by the arm, pulling them close, and whispering something in their ear before continuing on with the story. In fact, the first sentence of this paragraph contained a parenthetical statement. \u201cA parenthetical statement, often called a parenthetical clause or parenthetical phrase<\/em>, is a statement made inside another statement.\u201d<\/p>\n

But when using parenthetical phrases a writer runs the risk of overcomplicating a sentence. Simple, clear writing is always best. Let me demonstrate this by rewriting some of that previous paragraph again.<\/p>\n

\u201cA parenthetical statement is a statement made inside another statement. Often called a parenthetical clause or parenthetical phrase, it serves as an aside, offering extra information to the reader without changing the thought of the larger sentence. It is the equivalent of grabbing the reader by the arm, pulling them close, and whispering something in their ear before continuing on with the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both paragraphs make sense, but the second version seems just a little cleaner to me, a little less cluttered.<\/p>\n

Also, notice that you don\u2019t need to use parenthesis to make a parenthetical statement. It is certainly the easiest way to identify them, but they can also be separated from the rest of the sentence by brackets, commas, or a dash. And this leads to my other problem with parenthesis. How do you deal with punctuation when using parentheses?<\/p>\n

Punctuation and Parenthesis<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A parenthesis<\/strong> is a form of punctuation, as is a comma and a dash. The plural of parenthesis is parentheses<\/strong>. You will always use two parentheses when making a parenthetical statement. How, then, do you insert punctuation inside another form of punctuation? Here\u2019s an example of a complete sentence, with a parenthetical phrase added to the end. Because the parenthetical follows the complete sentence, the period is placed after the parenthetical.<\/p>\n