What are Parentheses? Definition & Examples for High School Students

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🔑 Parentheses are curved brackets: ( )
• 🖋️ They're used to add extra information, clarification, or an aside in a sentence.
• ➕ Information in parentheses is usually non-essential; the sentence should still make sense without it.
• 🔢 Parentheses can also be used for in-text citations in academic writing.
• 💡 They can indicate abbreviations or acronyms on first use (e.g., World Health Organization (WHO)).

Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following sentences uses parentheses correctly?
   1. A. My cat (who is very fluffy) loves to sleep.
   2. B. My cat, who is very fluffy, (loves to sleep).
   3. C. My cat who is very fluffy (loves to sleep).
   4. D. My cat (who is very fluffy, loves to sleep).
2. What is the primary purpose of using parentheses in a sentence?
   1. A. To create a new sentence.
   2. B. To add essential information.
   3. C. To provide additional, non-essential information.
   4. D. To indicate a question.
3. In which context are parentheses commonly used for citations?
   1. A. Informal emails
   2. B. Academic writing
   3. C. Social media posts
   4. D. Grocery lists
4. Choose the sentence where parentheses are used to introduce an acronym correctly.
   1. A. I work at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).
   2. B. I work at (NASA) National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
   3. C. I work at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
   4. D. I work at National Aeronautics (NASA) and Space Administration.
5. Which sentence demonstrates the correct use of parentheses to add an aside?
   1. A. The movie (which I saw last week) was amazing.
   2. B. The movie, which I saw last week (was amazing).
   3. C. The movie which I saw last week (was amazing).
   4. D. The movie (which I saw last week, was amazing).
6. Identify the sentence where removing the content within parentheses does NOT change the sentence's core meaning.
   1. A. The capital of France (Paris) is beautiful.
   2. B. To complete the assignment (all questions must be answered).
   3. C. She went to the store (to buy milk).
   4. D. He needed a car (to get to work).
7. Which of the following is NOT a typical use of parentheses?
   1. A. Adding extra information
   2. B. Creating a compound sentence
   3. C. Providing citations
   4. D. Introducing acronyms