Parentheses ( ) are a type of punctuation. Parentheses always come as a pair – in twos.
We put parentheses around words and information that are not of major importance. The words in a parentheses can be left out and the sentence still makes sense. Information inside a set of parentheses is called “parenthetical” information. Parenthetical information is information that is relatively unimportant and can be left out if necessary.
These sentences have parenthetical statements inside the parentheses:
Some people (my brother, for example) just don’t understand why I like rainy days.
My brother (who lives in Florida) thinks every day should be a sunny day.
My dad and younger sister (unlike the rest of the family) are talented musicians.
I can sing (of course), but I don’t play an instrument.
If you leave out the parenthetical words, the sentences still make sense.
Some people just don’t understand why I like rainy days.
My brother thinks every day should be a sunny day.
My dad and younger brother are talented musicians.
I can sing, but I don’t play an instrument.
Parentheses are useful for setting off extra or unimportant ideas inside a sentence. Always use both parts of the parentheses. Open the parentheses, and then close the parentheses.