Parentheses
Parentheses indicate that the writer feels that the material contained within is of less importance or should be deemphasized.
Rule: Use parentheses to enclose words or figures that clarify or are used as an aside.
Example: I expect five hundred dollars ($500).
Example: He finally answered (after taking five minutes to think) that he did not understand the question.
Note: Commas could have been used in the above example to indicate that the wording was of equal importance. Em dashes would have been used to emphasize the interruption.
Example: He finally answered—after taking five minutes to think—that he did not understand the question.
Rule: Use full parentheses to enclose numbers of listed items in a sentence.
Example: We need an emergency room physician who can (1) think quickly, (2) treat patients respectfully, and (3) handle complaints from the public.
Note: You may also use a period with numbers: (1.) think quickly, (2.) treat…
Just be consistent within your document.
Rule: Periods go inside parentheses if an entire sentence is inside the parentheses.
Examples:
Please read the analysis (I enclosed it as Attachment A.).
OR
Please read the analysis. (I enclosed it as Attachment A.)
OR
Please read the analysis (Attachment A).
Quiz
Place parentheses where needed.
1. She requested actually she pleaded that her name be withheld.
2. This contract guarantees that we will 1 deliver the merchandise and 2 pay for all damaged goods.
Answers
1. She requested (actually she pleaded) that her name be withheld.
2. This contract guarantees that we will (1) deliver the merchandise and (2) pay for all damaged goods.
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Woman without her man is nothing.
Woman: without her, man is nothing.
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May 26th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Rule: Use parentheses to enclose words or figures that clarify or are used as an aside.
Example: I expect five hundred dollars ($500).
How does the example clarify anything? Either expression is quite clear by itself. If I say “Send it to me in ten days” - or “Send it to me in 10 days” is it possible that someone would think I meant eleven (11) days?
The accepted practice of writing an amount on a check in both words and digits illustrates the fallacy of the argument. The more complex the number, the greater the chance that the person writing it will make a mistake. I suspect that in most cases, the amount written in digits will be correct.
If the logic is valid, we would write December (twelfth month) 17 (seventeenth), 2009 (two thousand nine).
May 26th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I can see your point; however, I think that if we type numerals such as $500, we may make an error and not catch it. So writing the number out makes sense. The reason for writing the number out on a check is to ensure that the recipient of the check does not change or add any numerals.