All about parentheses

There’s more to this multipurpose pair than meets the eye! Parentheses, which are also called round brackets, are used for both general and specialized purposes. Plus, there are special rules for using other punctuation marks with parentheses.

Fill in the blanks in the sentences below to see how much you know about the particulars of parentheses! Need a hand? Take a look at our writing tip on parentheses.

1. Parentheses are used to provide additional information, such as examples, , brief explanations and comments.

important details

non-essential afterthoughts

long quotations

2. The information between parentheses must not .

be a full sentence

contain internal punctuation

be critical to the meaning of the sentence

3. Parentheses are not used to enclose .

translations within quotes: They shouted, “Sláinte (cheers)!”

abbreviations: Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG)

a letter or group of letters: address(es) listed

4. In legal documents, parentheses (not square brackets) are used to enclose .

a change to a quote: “(The manager) will handle the issue.”

an addition to a quote: “It (the offence) was not his first.”

a number previously written out: thirty (30) business days

5. My grandmother my mom, my sister and I have started a knitting club.

(an avid knitter),

(space an avid knitter space),

(an avid knitter) space,

6. She’ll meet us there , so we’ll save her a seat.

(She’s coming straight from work)

(she’s coming straight from work)

(She’s coming straight from work.)

7. I love the summer, but there’s something so calming about the fall

(wouldn’t you agree)?

(wouldn’t you agree).

(wouldn’t you agree?).

8. After my run I did 20 minutes of yoga.

(my fourth one this week,)

(my fourth one this week),

, (my fourth one this week)

9. My phone number is .

(613) 123-4567

613-123-4567

613,123,4567

10. I forgot my ear plugs and my sleep mask .

(I should have made a packing list [oops!])

(I should have made a packing list (oops!))

(I should have made a packing list {oops!})