• 3-minute read
  • 30th March 2019

Writing Tips: How to Punctuate Brackets

Brackets (or parentheses) are a useful type of punctuation. However, it can be hard to know where to put other punctuation marks when a sentence contains brackets. So how does this work? Check out our advice on how to punctuate brackets for more information.



Periods: Inside or Outside?

We’re often asked whether to place periods inside or outside closing brackets. But this depends on the situation. As a rule, you should:

  • Place periods inside brackets when an entire sentence is parenthetical.
  • Place periods outside closing brackets in all other cases.

So when bracketed text is part of a longer sentence, the period goes after the closing bracket:

The cake looks great (and tastes even better).

The cake looks great (and tastes even better.)

And when a whole sentence is parenthetical, the period goes inside the closing bracket:

I ate the whole cake. (And now I am full.)

I ate the whole cake. (And now I am full).

Brackets and Commas

When it comes to comma placement and brackets, there are two main rules:

  1. You will almost never need a comma before an opening bracket.
  2. You only need a comma after a closing bracket at the end of a clause.

As such, you only need a comma after a closing bracket if the sentence would contain one anyway. And this means we can check whether a comma is correct by removing the bracketed text.

For example, below we have one correct and one incorrect comma:

We’re going to the zoo tomorrow (Tuesday), which will be nice.

Big cats (e.g., lions and tigers), are predators.

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And if we remove the bracketed text, we can see why the second is wrong:

We’re going to the zoo tomorrow, which will be nice.

Big cats, are predators.

We do not need a comma between “cats” and “are” here. And since this sentence does not need a comma, it doesn’t need one when we add the bracketed text either.

Exclamation Points and Question Marks

Finally, we’ll look at exclamation points and question marks. Like periods, these are forms of terminal punctuation, so they usually indicate the end of a sentence. However, unlike periods, you can use an exclamation point or a question mark within brackets mid-sentence. For instance:

The man (what was his name?) left a note.

Here, we use a question mark to show the bracketed text is a question.

It’s worth noting here that the punctuation inside brackets does not affect the rest of the sentence. And as such, when a sentence ends with bracketed text that includes an exclamation point or a question mark, we still need to add a period after the closing bracket. For example:

I was not invited (and I am furious!).

I was not invited (and I am furious!)

Summary: How to Punctuate Brackets

It can be tricky to know where to put punctuation in a sentence that includes brackets. However, we have a few simple guidelines to follow that will help ensure your written work is error free:

  1. Always place periods outside closing brackets unless the entire sentence is parenthetical, in which case the period goes inside.
  2. Only use a comma after a closing bracket at the end of a clause.
  3. Use question marks and exclamation points inside brackets as required. However, don’t forget to add a period after the closing bracket.

And if you’d like more help with your punctuation, you can always get your work proofread by the experts.

Comments (5)
Celest Ji Tong Xin
17th March 2023 at 07:13
I do not understand what you mean. The question I asked is can we write brackets in situational writing.
    Proofed
    19th March 2023 at 12:28
    Hi, Celest! We’d be happy to help if this article doesn’t answer your question. When you say situational writing, I think you’re referring to writing for real-life situations such as a letter or email? We have a couple of general guides to brackets and parentheses here https://proofed.com/writing-tips/brackets-parentheses/ and https://proofed.com/writing-tips/simple-grammar-what-do-we-mean-by-parenthesis/, which I hope is some initial help, but let us know if you need further information.
Dorothy
21st April 2023 at 00:34
Hello, You say that, as a rule, a period should be placed inside the closing bracket when an entire sentence is parenthetical. But I often come across sentences such as the following, in which two entire clauses, each of which could stand alone as its own sentence, are incorporated into one sentence (with just one period at the end): I ate the whole cake (and now I am full). I went for a long jog (but I had to stop several times to catch my breath). Would the above (compound?) sentences be considered incorrectly punctuated? Kindly advise.
Dorothy
21st April 2023 at 00:48
Here are two more examples: Please let me know as soon as possible whether you’re interested (you can always change your mind later). Did you try the chocolate cake (it was my first attempt at this recipe)?
    Proofed
    26th April 2023 at 13:59
    Hi, Dorothy. All the examples you’ve given (including the last one with a question mark as terminal punctuation) are following the rule used for this sentence in our article’s first section on periods: The cake looks great (and tastes even better). The key is that the parenthetical text in these examples does not form standalone sentences as it doesn’t begin with a capital letter or follow a period/terminal punctuation. If it did, then it would follow the rule shown in the next example we give: I ate the whole cake. (And now I am full.) I hope this helps!


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