Use of Parentheses

Content

• What are parentheses for?
• Examples of using parentheses

Parentheses is a punctuation mark used in pairs, each one spaced between words, enclosing information. For example: Juan (my boss) is a great professional.

However, it is common for the entire category to be unknown and a single group of these signs is understood by parentheses, the one that clarifies or specifies something. Different types of speeches admit the introduction of parentheses on different occasions.

• It can help you: Using the script

What are parentheses for?

• Make a clarification. In narrative texts they are used as an interruption to provide an explanatory paragraph: it is often applied after the appointment of a person to express their function or some characteristic of their own. If, after naming a person, a pair of dates separated by a hyphen appears in parentheses, it is usually understood that the date of birth and death are being discussed.
• Make an ellipsis. In textual citations, on the other hand, a set of three points (the so-called ellipsis) can be included in parentheses that indicate to the reader the fact that an ellipsis is being made, skipping one part of the text to reach another.
• Include dimensions. In theatrical works, on the other hand, the function of the parenthesis is to include annotations of the author and the characters.
• Complete information. Parentheses are also very common in the framework of the formality of documents far from literature, which are used when they grant different options to give an instruction: all kinds of forms use this type of parentheses to express a range of alternatives.
• Clarify meanings. When an acronym is mentioned, in addition, it is frequent that the meaning of those letters is explained in parentheses.
• Perform numbering. On the other hand, the numberings that the texts perform in an alphabetical or numerical order are usually labeled with a closing parenthesis.
• Do math operations. Computer science and mathematics, for their part, also appeal to parentheses very frequently for the different operations they practice. The location of the parentheses between the signs of this type will have a very different meaning depending on the case.
• Create emoticons. It is common in the Internet world that parentheses are used for ‘emoticons’, signs that synthesize moods through minimal expressions in drawings, often using parentheses for their use.

Examples of using parentheses

1. Date parentheses
   • Roberto Alfredo "the Black"Fontanarrosa (Rosario, November 26, 1944 - ibid., July 19, 2007) was a historical Argentine writer.
   • The film 'The Godfather' (1972) is one of the most important in the history of cinema.
2. Theatrical parenthesis
   • -Goodbye. (He slams the door and leaves).
   • MARIA. (looking at infinity) I never want to see you again.
3. Clarification parenthesis
   • My father (a great lawyer) is the fundamental reference that I had throughout my life.
   • My brother (the youngest) is studying medicine.
   • Mrs. Norma (my neighbor) has bought that same dress.
   • Milton Friedman (Nobel laureate in economics in 1976) was an economist, exponent of the monetarist school of thought.
4. Acronym brackets
   • FIFA (International Football Federation) is going through one of the most difficult moments in its history.
   • The UN (United Nations Organization) made the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.
5. Parentheses for emoticon
   • : (Expresses sadness.
   • ; ) Give a wink.
   • :) Express happiness.
6. Mathematical parentheses
   • (5+6) * 2.
   • (5,60).
   • F (X) = 4X + 6.
7. Enumeration parentheses
   • The neighboring countries of Argentina are: a) Uruguay; b) Brazil; c) Paraguay; d) Bolivia.
8. Other uses of parentheses
   • Fill in the survey with the opinion (s) you have in each case. Form explanation parenthesis.
   • A boy (a) is needed to deliver orders. Option parentheses.
   • ‘Thank you for coming (…) your presence was really gratifying.’ Ellipsis parentheses.

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