In rhetoric, a parenthesis (plural: ''parentheses''; from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

word παρένθεσις ''parénthesis'' 'injection, insertion', literally '(a) putting in beside') or parenthetical phrase is an explanatory or qualifying word, clause, or sentence inserted into a passage. The parenthesis could be left out and still form grammatically correct text. Parenthetical expressions are usually

delimit A delimiter is a sequence of one or more characters for specifying the boundary between separate, independent regions in plain text, mathematical expressions or other data streams. An example of a delimiter is the comma character, which acts ...

ed by round or square brackets, dashes, or commas.

Examples

;Billy-bob, a great singer, was not a good dancer.:The phrase ''a great singer'', set off by commas, is both an

appositive Apposition is a grammatical construction in which two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side so one element identifies the other in a different way. The two elements are said to be ''in apposition'', and one of the elements is c ...

and a parenthesis. ;A dog (not a cat) is an animal that barks.:The phrase ''not a cat'' is a parenthesis. ;My umbrella (which is somewhat broken) can still shield the two of us from the rain.:The phrase ''which is somewhat broken'' is a parenthesis. ;Please, Gerald, come here!: ''Gerald'' is both a noun of

direct address Direct address may refer to: * Vocative expression, a term or phrase used to directly address an individual * The direct addressing mode Addressing modes are an aspect of the instruction set architecture in most central processing unit (CPU) des ...

and a parenthesis.

Types

The following are examples of types of parenthetical phrases: *Introductory phrase: Once upon a time, my father ate a muffin. *Interjection: My father ate the muffin, gosh damn it! *Aside: My father, if you don't mind me telling you this, ate the muffin. *

Appositive Apposition is a grammatical construction in which two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side so one element identifies the other in a different way. The two elements are said to be ''in apposition'', and one of the elements is c ...

: My father, a jaded and bitter man, ate the muffin. *Absolute phrase: My father, his eyes flashing with rage, ate the muffin. *Free modifier: My father, chewing with unbridled fury, ate the muffin. *Resumptive modifier: My father ate the muffin, a muffin which no man had yet chewed. *Summative modifier: My father ate the muffin, a feat which no man had attempted.

Punctuation

While a parenthesis need not be written enclosed by the curved brackets called ''parentheses'', their use, principally around rhetorical parentheses, has made the

punctuation mark Punctuation (or sometimes interpunction) is the use of spacing, conventional signs (called punctuation marks), and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading of written text, whether read silently or aloud. A ...

s the only common use for the term in most contexts. English-language style and usage guides originating in the news industry of the twentieth century, such as the '' AP Stylebook'', recommend against the use of

square bracket A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

s for parenthesis and other purposes, because "They cannot be transmitted over news wires." Usage of parentheses goes back (at least) to the 15th century in English legal documents.

References

Rhetoric Grammar Punctuation {{rhetoric-stub