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Periods and Parentheses

February 21, 2011
Punctuation

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by Mignon Fogarty

When a parenthetical statement falls at the end of a sentence, the placement of the terminal punctuation depends on whether the words inside the parentheses are a complete sentence.

If the words inside the parentheses aren't a complete sentence, the period, question mark, or exclamation point that ends the sentence goes after the parenthesis:

Squiggly likes chocolate (and nuts).
Could Aardvark bring home candy (quickly)?

If the words inside the parentheses are a complete sentence, the period, question mark, or exclamation point that ends the sentence goes inside the parenthesis:

Bring chocolate. (Squiggly likes sweets.)
Buy candy. (Bring it quickly!)

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Parentheses, Brackets, and Braces
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J Worthington Foulfellow
4/10/2012 4:35:30 PM

Another clarification: if you have an independent clause within parentheses and it falls at the end of a sentence (rather than the middle, as in Grammar Girl's most recent example), you still leave the period outside.

Blou
12/7/2011 12:49:52 AM

Is it also okay to put a period inside the parentheses AND outside the parentheses? For example, I saw several people I knew at the market (like Bob. I think.). I feel like the .). looks like some sort of weird emoticon, but I am really uncomfortable about leaving the period off altogether after the parentheses. Seems so...incomplete. Please advise!

Geoff M. Pope
2/22/2011 1:22:03 AM

@Adebisi Oyero -- I think the widely accepted rule is that you don't ever put a punctuation mark before an opening parenthesis. Google "Commas before parentheses," and let me know if I'm incorrect.

Adebisi Oyero
2/22/2011 12:47:40 AM

Thanks 4 d tip,it was quite helpful.I want to ask..what is the place of a comma before a parenthesis? In the sample sentence,couldn't a comma come after the "Bring chocolate"? Was the parenthesis for EMPHASIS,or an afterthought?

John S
2/21/2011 10:05:01 PM

@B and @Chris Stolle. I agree with ASprak. The construction is exceedingly ugly and I would never use it. The rule may be simple, but it's wrong in my opinion. Any construction that ends with a ) with no punctuation outside it looks incomplete. The example given, "Bring chocolate. (Squiggly likes sweets.)" not only looks incomplete, it also looks ugly. I would prefer "Bring chocolate (Squiggly likes sweets). According to the "rule" stated in the article, it's wrong - but it makes the statement as effectively, and it's much more elegant.

Emilio's ideas work, too - his two examples both make the statement without the ugliness.

Gina
2/21/2011 6:51:23 PM

Maybe a column on when parenthesis are appropriate would be helpful. In almost all cases,
I use them emotionally.

Gina
2/21/2011 6:48:38 PM

Thanks for the info, although it's pretty much common sense (as most all punctuation is). :-)

NLB
2/21/2011 5:03:57 PM

@Shae - periods and commas are ALWAYS inside the quotation marks. Question marks, exclamation points, semicolons and colons are dependent on whether the punctuation is part of the quote or not.

Can you define the word "subordinate"?

Emilio
2/21/2011 3:47:51 PM

Why would anyone want to put a separate sentence inside brackets? It doesn't really conect to the previous sentence.

Wouldn't it be better to use a colon to add to something already said? Or even a semi-colon, for a longer pause?

Example:

Bring chocolate: Squiggly likes sweets.

Bring chocolate; Squiggly likes sweets.

Feedback please :)

Shae
2/21/2011 3:09:37 PM

Could you do a similar column on quote marks? For example, what's correct in these types of statements, period inside or out?

I didn't join the group because I didn't agree with their "family values".

Then he said, "Get lost."

Chris Stolle
2/21/2011 2:00:32 PM

@ASprak: "Bring chocolate" *is* a sentence. It's an imperative sentence. Thus, it ends with a period. The words inside the parentheses also constitute a sentence, and it gets its own period inside the parenthesis. I don't find anything ugly about such a simple set of rules. :-)

B
2/21/2011 1:36:21 PM

@ASprak that is two sentences with two periods... I'm not sure I see the ugly in it.

Natalia
2/21/2011 12:05:45 PM

This tip was helpful.
Thank You.

Grammar Girl
2/21/2011 11:55:54 AM

I just realized that I should clarify something. If a complete sentence is contained within parentheses within another sentence, you don't put a period at the end:

We asked Aardvark to bring chocolate (all we had were nuts and chips), but he couldn't get to the store before the party.

ASprak
2/21/2011 8:22:30 AM

So in this utterance (since it's not a sentence), you've got two periods, which is ugly: Bring chocolate. (Squiggly likes sweets.)

In Dutch, there would be one period less (way more pleasing to the eye), but then again, there are no such strict rules anyway.

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Periods and Parentheses

When a parenthetical statement falls at the end of a sentence, the placement of the terminal punctuation depends on whether the words inside the parentheses are a complete sentence.

If the words inside the parentheses aren't a complete sentence, the period, question mark, or exclamation point that ends the sentence goes after the parenthesis:

Squiggly likes chocolate (and nuts).

Could Aardvark bring home candy (quickly)?

If the words inside the parentheses are a complete sentence, the period, question mark, or exclamation point that ends the sentence goes inside the parenthesis:

Bring chocolate. (Squiggly likes sweets.)

Buy candy. (Bring it quickly!)

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