What are brackets for?
Brackets ( ) add extra information to a sentence: a detail, an example or an explanation.
The Giant’s Causeway (in County Antrim) is visited by thousands of people every year.
The rules
- Brackets always come in pairs: one to open ( and one to close ).
- The sentence must still make sense if you take out the words in brackets.
- If the brackets come at the end of a sentence, the full stop goes outside: We went to the zoo (on Saturday).
Brackets, commas or dashes?
All three can add extra information (this is called parenthesis):
- My uncle (who lives in Cork) is visiting.
- My uncle, who lives in Cork, is visiting.
- My uncle – who lives in Cork – is visiting.
Watch out! Cover up the words in brackets and read what’s left. If it doesn’t make sense, the brackets are in the wrong place.
Top tip: brackets are like a quiet whisper to the reader: “by the way…”
🎮 Bracket checkQuestion 1 of 5