4 Rules To Make You a Parentheses PRO

Parentheses are a great tool you can use to add extra information or commentary to your text. If you want to toss in some examples or clarifications, they’re super handy. Little jokes and sarcastic comments love to be nested inside a set of parentheses.

The only problem is that too many people don’t know exactly how to use parentheses. When does a parenthetical statement need to have a capitalized first letter? Where does the punctuation go at the end? What even CAN go inside parentheses? I have a complete guide on how to use parentheses here, but if you want just a few basic rules that will give you a huge jump start, keep on reading!

Rule #1: Parenthetical Statements Are Extra—NOT Essential

Think of parenthetical statements as islands. They’re cut off from the main part of the text. Because of that, you should NOT put essential information inside parentheses. Anything that is super important should stay on the mainland of your text so you don’t risk it drifting away.

Another metaphor I use when talking about parentheses is to think of each parenthesis mark as a hook, and a crane could come along at any moment, hook onto both of those marks, and yank the whole thing out of your sentence. If that happened, your text should be able to survive just fine on its own. You shouldn’t lose any essential information or punctuation marks in the process.

Here’s an example:

My friend (Samantha, who lives next door) showed up at Jordan’s housewarming party, which was awkward because Jordan hates Samantha.

If we lost that parenthetical statement, we would be OK in terms of actual functionality (we wouldn’t lose any essential punctuation marks and the sentence would technically be grammatically correct), but we would certainly lose one important piece of information: the name of my friend who showed up at Jordan’s party. Without that information, we wouldn’t know who showed up or why it was awkward.

My friend showed up at Jordan’s housewarming party, which was awkward because Jordan hates Samantha.

To fix this problem, we should leave the friend’s name OUTSIDE the parentheses because that is essential information. The information about where Samantha lives (next door) is not essential for this sentence, so we can leave that in parentheses.

My friend Samantha (who lives next door) showed up at Jordan’s housewarming party, which was awkward because Jordan hates Samantha.

Let’s take a look at another example:

I love most breakfast foods (but I can’t stand eggs.)

Without more context, we don’t know if the information about the eggs is essential. But what I’m really worried about in this example is the end punctuation: The period is trapped inside the parentheses! If a crane comes along and steals our parenthetical statement, we’ll be left without any end punctuation.

I love most breakfast foods

A missing end punctuation mark is certainly a grammatical problem, so we need to correct it by putting the period OUTSIDE the end parentheses:

I love most breakfast foods (but I can’t stand eggs).

Now if that parenthetical statement is stolen away, we still have a complete sentence with all the punctuation it needs:

I love most breakfast foods.

To recap, parenthetical statements are for EXTRA information, not ESSENTIAL information. Make sure you can pull them out of your text (along with any punctuation marks that are inside them) and everything still makes sense and is grammatically correct.

Rule #2: A Parenthetical Statement Within a Sentence Does NOT Require End Punctuation

If your parenthetical statement is inside another sentence, it does not have to have a capitalized first letter or end punctuation mark. This is true whether that parenthetical statement is a full sentence or just a few words.

The leaves were starting to turn yellow (Fall was clearly just around the corner.).

The leaves were starting to turn yellow (fall was clearly just around the corner).

This is so weird, I know. It’s second nature to capitalize the first letter in a sentence and add end punctuation to the last word, but resist when that sentence is in parentheses within another sentence.

My aunt loves to go camping (She’s been outdoorsy all her life.), so we bought her a new tent for her birthday.

My aunt loves to go camping (she’s been outdoorsy all her life), so we bought her a new tent for her birthday.

You might have punctuation inside the parentheses if that punctuation only applies to the parenthetical statement, but end punctuation is not required.

There’s a crack in the sidewalk leading up to my front door (don’t trip)! and two plants on either side of the entryway.

There’s a crack in the sidewalk leading up to my front door (don’t trip!) and two plants on either side of the entryway.

There’s a crack in the sidewalk leading up to my front door (don’t trip) and two plants on either side of the entryway.

Rule #3: Treat a Parenthetical Statement That’s NOT Within Another Sentence Like Any Other Text

If your parenthetical statement is NOT inside another sentence, it DOES need a capitalized first letter and end punctuation.

The leaves were starting to turn yellow. (fall was clearly just around the corner)

Because our parenthetical statement is not included in another sentence (it’s standing on its own), it needs a capitalized first letter and end punctuation mark inside the closing parentheses:

The leaves were starting to turn yellow. (Fall was clearly just around the corner.)

My aunt loves to go camping, so we bought her a new tent for her birthday. (she’s been outdoorsy all her life)

My aunt loves to go camping, so we bought her a new tent for her birthday. (She’s been outdoorsy all her life.)

RECAP: Parentheses and Punctuation

Here’s a quick overview of how punctuation works with parentheses:

If you have a parenthetical statement within a sentence, it does not need a capitalized first letter or its own end punctuation.

Maria went to the grocery store (She needed bread.).

Maria went to the grocery store (she needed bread).

If a parenthetical statement is NOT within another sentence (that is, it’s standing on its own), it should have a capitalized first letter and end punctuation mark INSIDE the closing parentheses.

I visited my grandmother this weekend. (she lives about 20 minutes away).

I visited my grandmother this weekend. (She lives about 20 minutes away.)

Visit this post and scroll down to “Mistake #2: Incorrect End Punctuation” to get more information about how to use parentheses and punctuation together!

Rule #4: Avoid Nested or Back-to-Back Parentheses When Possible

Most style guides will tell you to AVOID using parentheses within parentheses (also called “nested parentheses”).

My brother (along with my cousin (Greg)) went out to pick up ice for the party.

If there’s no avoiding it, you should use square brackets for the nested set of parentheses:

My brother (along with my cousin [Greg]) went out to pick up ice for the party.

Generally, however, it’s better to re-write the sentence to avoid the nested parentheses:

My brother and my cousin Greg went out to pick up ice for the party.

Additionally, you should avoid having parenthetical statements that run into each other:

Lexi said she couldn’t make it to Rachel’s baby shower (she had to work) (we didn’t expect her to come, anyway).

To fix this, you can either reword your sentence…

Lexi said she couldn’t make it to Rachel’s baby shower because she had to work (we didn’t expect her to come, anyway).

…or use a semicolon to combine your parenthetical statements.

Lexi said she couldn’t make it to Rachel’s baby shower (she had to work; we didn’t expect her to come, anyway).

Now you’re ready to tackle any text as a parentheses PRO! Comment below if you have any questions about parentheses, and I’ll find an answer for you!

Sources:

• American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 7th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2020.
• The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2017.
• Ebbitt, D. R., and W. R. Ebbitt. Index to English. 8th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
• Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook. 3rd ed. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: Univ of California Pr, 2011.