Parentheses set off a nonrestrictive or parenthetical element: a word group you could lift out without breaking the sentence. A pair of commas or a pair of dashes can set off the same element (the three-tool choice); parentheses are the quietest. Square brackets, the editorial cousin, work inside quotations and do a different job.
In a sentence
My uncle(a retired pilot)flies often.
She won first place(which surprised everyone).
Now you try
The part inside should lift right out. Like: My dog (a husky) loves snow.
Whose words is it?
Parentheses enclose a nonrestrictive element the writer adds in their own sentence; square brackets enclose an editorial insertion inside a direct quotation. Both come in pairs and both set a part aside; the difference is whose words they sit in.
In a sentence
The trail(steep but short)ends at the lake.
Now you try
Parentheses hold your own aside; brackets hold a note inside someone else's quote.
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