Parenthesis (brackets, dashes, commas)

Using brackets, dashes or pairs of commas to mark off extra information

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1
Which sentence uses brackets correctly for parenthesis? A) My brother (the older one) is very tall. B) My brother (the older one is very tall. C) My brother the older one) is very tall. D) My brother (the older one)) is very tall.
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2
Add the missing closing bracket: My favourite teacher (Mr Khan ___ is very funny. My favourite teacher (Mr Khan ___ is very funny.
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3
Which three punctuation marks can be used in pairs to show parenthesis? A) Brackets, dashes and commas B) Full stops, semicolons and colons C) Apostrophes, hyphens and commas D) Question marks, exclamation marks and brackets
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4
What is parenthesis? A) the title of a book B) extra information added into a sentence C) a type of verb D) a question
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5
True or false: When you use a pair of commas for parenthesis, the sentence should still make sense if you remove the part between the commas. When you use a pair of commas for parenthesis, the sentence should still make sense if you remove the part between the commas. A) True B) False
Answer:
6
Which sentence uses dashes correctly for parenthesis? A) My friend - Sarah - helped me with my homework. B) My friend - Sarah helped me with my homework. C) My friend Sarah - helped me with my homework. D) My friend - Sarah, helped me with my homework.
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7
Add a pair of commas to mark the parenthesis correctly: My dog Rex who is six years old loves long walks. My dog Rex ___ who is six years old ___ loves long walks. (Type the same punctuation mark in both blanks.)
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8
Type the punctuation mark that completes the parenthesis: My grandfather, who fought in the war ___ told me amazing stories. My grandfather, who fought in the war ___ told me amazing stories.
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9
True or false: Dashes generally give more emphasis to parenthesis than commas do. Dashes generally give more emphasis to parenthesis than commas do. A) True B) False
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10
Which sentence uses dashes for parenthesis? A) My dog (a Labrador) is brown. B) My dog - a Labrador - is brown. C) My dog, a Labrador, is brown. D) My dog: a Labrador, is brown.
Answer:

Answer key

Parenthesis (brackets, dashes, commas) · for parents and teachers

1
My brother (the older one) is very tall.
Brackets must open and close around the extra information. The sentence should still make sense if the bracketed part is removed.
2
)
Brackets come in pairs - open with ( and close with ).
3
Brackets, dashes and commas
Parenthesis can be shown by three pairs of marks: brackets, dashes and commas.
4
extra information added into a sentence
Parenthesis is extra information added into a sentence.
5
True
True. Parenthesis (using brackets, dashes or commas) adds extra info that can be removed without breaking the sentence.
6
My friend - Sarah - helped me with my homework.
Dashes used for parenthesis always come in pairs, surrounding the extra information.
7
,
We use a pair of commas to mark off the relative clause 'who is six years old', which is extra information.
8
,
Parenthesis must close with the same type of mark it opened with. Here it opened with a comma, so it closes with one.
9
True
True. Dashes make the extra information stand out more strongly than commas, which feel less dramatic.
10
My dog - a Labrador - is brown.
'- a Labrador -' uses dashes for parenthesis (emphatic).