Style - Use Parentheticals
Give extra information in the MIDDLE of a sentence. For example:
- Cats are cute.
- Cats (a common pet) are cute
There are three ways:
- Dashes -
- Brackets (“parentheses”)
- Commas ,,
Just put one on each side of the extra information
- Cats – a common pet – are cute.
- Cats (a common pet) are cute.
- Cats, a common pet, are cute.
Remember you need TWO of them!
Cats — a common pet are cute.Cats (a common pet are cute.Cats, a common pet are cute.
Do not use commas if you have commas already
- OK: The three disadvantages - A, B, and C - that this causes are a problem.
- OK: The three disadvantages (A, B, and C) that this causes are a problem.
- NO:
The three disadvantages, A, B, and C, that this causes are a problem.
Careful with dashes
- Technically they’re not correct
- Read this (but be warned, most native English speakers don’t know or care about this)