Grammar-Quizzes › More Practices › Writing Aids › Punctuation › Commas, Parentheses & Dashes
Commas, Parentheses & Dashes
Setting off extraneous comments from clauses
Punctuation for Comments
| COMMAS | PARENTHESES | DASHES |
|---|---|---|
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| DESCRIPTION, CLARIFICATION, DETAIL | CIRCUMSTANCE, EXPLANATION, DETAIL | INTERRUPTION OR AFTERTHOUGHT |
Crime, which weakens our city, must be reduced. detail |
Crime (burglaries and robberies) must be reduced. explanation |
Crime—costing the city millions of dollars each year— must be reduced. |
Crooks, who fill their own pockets, take money from the pockets of working people. (comment refers to "all") |
Crooks (only a few jailed last year) take money from the pockets of working people. |
Crooks—the greedy lot— take money from the pockets of working people. |
Community service, which helps fill in special needs of our citizens, makes our city strong. |
Community service (filling in the gaps) makes our city strong. |
Community service—a blessing for the giver and receiver—makes our city strong. |
The "bike to work" program, which makes use of our newly added bike lanes, will reduce traffic. |
The "bike to work" program (a project of the transportation department) will reduce traffic. |
Our "bike to work" program will reduce traffic—something everyone wants! |
Commas
Parentheses
Dashesextraneous (Adj) – introduced or coming from without; not belonging or proper to a thing; external; foreign
The pictures above are used to illustrate relative emphasis; the text does not reflect the beliefs or quotes of the individual shown.
Adding Comments to Sentences
While we would like to think that our thoughts flow from the mind in a linear manner, this is often not the case. We think of something that we want to add while mentioning a topic, and then we insert it into the sentence.
Commas, parentheses and dashes are used in writing to mark these comments as extra-information or as an interruption to the sentence.
Commas are the preferred way to set off information from the rest of the sentence. However, parentheses and dashes are used too. The use of dashes is considered to be more informal than the use of commas and parentheses. A writer should use these only when necessary because straying from the topic too many times makes it difficult for the reader to follow the writer's thoughts.
crooks (N) – a dishonest person, a person who cheats people out of money or property
gap (V) – hole, a space between two objects
linear (Adj) – straight, like a line not a branch
non-essential (Adj) – extra, not necessary, can be omitted
set off (verbal phrase.) – separate as different, non-essential to the central idea of the clause
stray (V) – go away from, wander off
A nonidentifying clause is set off with commas. It does not restrict in number or type of the noun before it. It refers to "all". "This is true of all."
An identifying clause is not set off with commas. The modifying clause is needed to identify a particular one, group, or type.
Also see more formal uses for parentheses and dashes.
Comments
Express relevance to central idea
Relevance to Central Idea
| COMMAS | PARENTHESES | DASHES |
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| MODIFYING COMMENT—STAYS ON TOPIC | EXPLANATORY COMMENT—DIGRESSION | INTERRUPTION—DIVERGENT |
Tax payers, who hand over their hard earned money, want to know where their tax dollars are being spent. (True for all tax papers. See Non-restrictive Clauses) |
Tax payers (only 85 million of them according to a disputed Drudge report) want to know where their tax dollars are being spent. |
Taxpayers want to know where their tax dollars are being spent —and why not? |
The governor encourages the use of public transportation, which cuts down on auto traffic in the city center. |
The governor encourages the use of public transportation. (MTA is the most complex commuter network system in North America.) |
The governor encourages the use of public transportation—he walks to his office next door every morning. |
The rising cost of housing, a staggering 9% per year, has forced several young people to lease rather than buy a home. |
The rising cost (9%) of housing has forced several young people to lease rather than buy a home. |
The rising cost of housing has forced several young people to lease rather than buy a home—an option that leaves them without home or property as they age. |
A comment set off by a dash or dashes adds information about a word or the entire clause. This use is more "dramatic". The long shape visually draws the reader's attention to the content. Use em dashes for interrupting thoughts, after-thoughts, contrasting and summarizing thoughts.digress (V) – to wander away from the main topic or purpose in speaking or writing; depart from the principal line of argument, plot, study, etc.
diverge (V) – to move in a different direction from the common point; branch off; go off on its own
hand over (verbal phrase) – surrender, give away rights to something
MTA – the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York City
Also see Speech Act Comments Figuratively Speaking
See Hyphen vs. Dash.
Appositives
Mentioning another name or nickname for it
Adding another equivalent name for it – an appositive
| ANOTHER NAME FOR IT / UNNECESSARY FOR IDENTIFICATION |
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Jay, my brother, will call at the end of the week. (nonessential; nonessential) My brother, Jay, will call at the end of the week. (I have one brother; nonessential.) |
Jay Byrd, the CEO of Kayaking Inc., will announce his plans. Jerry Brown, governor of California, will announce his plans. Jerry Brown, the governor³ of California, will announce his plans. The California governor, Jerry Brown, will announce his plans. |
The Aleutian Islands, formerly the Catherine Islands, consist of more than 300 islands. also known as |
Alaska, "the last frontier", became a state in 1959. a state nickname |
| NOT ANOTHER NAME / NECESSARY FOR IDENTIFICATION |
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No commas are used for titles or information that is not just an equivalent name. No commas are needed when the description adds essential, identifying information |
My brother Tom will call at the end of the week. (I have two brothers.) My friends Liam and Nia will call tonight. (I have several friends.) |
CEO Jay Byrd will announce his plans. California Governor Brown will announce his plans. The Governor will announce his plans. (replaces the personal name) Former governors of California Reagan and Schwarzenegger were actors. |
Formerly the Catherine Islands, the Aleutian Islands consist of more than 300 islands. (other islands were named "Catherine") |
"The last frontier", Alaska, became a state in 1959. (a nickname shared with other places) |
¹an idenitified noun is one that is named by its proper name or already known by previous mention or the immediate context.
²an acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of a group of words, for example, CEO from chief executive officer. An acronym is capitalized whether we are speaking generically (in general) or specifically (a person's official title).
³Capitalize official/ proffesional titles when they immediately precede the personal name. President Obama is traveling abroad. Don't capitalize generic job titles, especially with "the". The president of the United States is traveling abroad. The exception is when the job title replaces the person's name. The President is traveling.
(CMOS 8.18-25) (GREGG 313)
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
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The bumper of the car—which fell off on the freeway—was later picked up by its owner. |
The police officer, can you believe it, was unsympathetic. |
| SOLUTION |
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The bumper of the car, which fell off on the freeway, was later picked up by its owner. Commas set off comments that are closely related to the central idea of the sentence. Dashes are used to draw attention, emphasis to the clause. |
The police office—can you believe it— was unsympathetic. Dashes mark information that interrupts the central idea of the sentence (informal usage). |
Punctuation Notes
Comments—commas, parentheses and dashes
| TYPING COMMAS, PARENTHESES, AND DASHES | USAGE NOTES |
|---|---|
A comma exists as a standard key on a keyboard. Parentheses usually ( ) exist as standard keys on a keyboard. Other modes of entering a left parenthesis are: Unicode (U+0028), Windows (Alt+0028;), HTML (() and a right parentheses is Unicode (U+0029), Windows (Alt+0029;), HTML ()). A dash does not usually exist on a standard keyboard but can be represented with two hyphens. (A hyphen is a standard key.) Other modes of entering an en dash are: Windows (Alt 1050), Mac (Option -) Unicode is (U+2013), HTML (–)
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"Parentheses usually set off material that is less closely related to the rest of the sentence than that enclosed in em dashes or commas." (Chicago Manual 6.97–6.103) "Parentheses and dashes serve many of the same functions, but they differ in one significant respect: parentheses can set off only nonessential elements, whereas dashes can set off essential and nonessential elements.…dashes emphasize; parentheses de-emphasize." (Sabin 218–226) "Dashes make a sharper break in the continuity of the sentence than commas do, and parentheses make a still sharper one." (MLA 3.2.5) Also see the following: • AP Stylebook Punctuation Guide: comma 325, parentheses 330, dash 327 • APA "Comma" 4.03, "Parentheses" 4.09, "Hyphenation" 4.13 • Burchfield "comma" 161, "parenthesis" 571, "dash" 197 • Sabin "Basic Rules for Commas That Set Off" 122, "Parentheses: With Explanatory Material" 218, "In Place of Parentheses" 206
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Resources
- The Chicago Manual of Style. 16th ed., U of Chicago P, 2010.
- Fowler's Modern English Usage. R. W. Burchfield and H. W. Fowler, revised 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2004.
- MLA Handbookfor Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2009.
- The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. Edited by Thomas Kent, et al., 51st ed., AP, 2016.
- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed., American Psychological Association, 2009.
- "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." Purdue OWL, Edited by Tony Russel et al., Purdue U, 15 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01.
- The Gregg Reference Manual. Edited by William A. Sabin, 11th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2011.
Style Manual Abbreviations (used in this website)
- AP (Associated Press), APA (American Psychological Association), CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style), GREGG (Gregg Reference Manual), MLA (MLA Handbook)
Practice 1
User-friendly City Streets
Read Context
Elena knows that her commute will be halted as she approaches the Burnham Bridge. This particular bridge is a mile and a half long and has four lanes but no pedestrian walkways. (If she wants to cross, she will have to walk on a narrow curb with cars whizzing by.)
Regardless of whether the bridge crossing is possible, Elena and hundreds of other participants in the movement called "Walk or Bike to Work Day" will make an important point: the city is simply not walkable or bike-able!
You see, it takes Elena thirty minutes to get to work, though she lives just six miles away, and while she would like to walk to work, there is an incomplete network of walkways.
Instead, she takes a bus to the subway, rides four stops, gets off, and takes a bus or walks the last five blocks to her office. By car, the same commute would take ten minutes.
However, she has no car (nor car repair bills, nor insurance payments), and there would be no place to park a car near her downtown office if she did.
She estimates that she spends twenty minutes per commute waiting for her transportation to arrive—there are bus schedules but they are more like "estimates"—and when a bus does arrive, there is rarely a seat available for her.
Elena wishes there were a more efficient way to get to work, more direct public transportation, more affordable private transportation, or more pedestrian-friendly routes.
For this reason, Elena is participating in the grass-roots movement ("Walk or Bike to Work Day") today. The objective of the demonstration is to press city planners to make improvements to city streets.
All participants in this walk-or-bike-to-work experiment are being asked to wear brightly colored clothing (neon orange, yellow, green
The quality of life of every urban commuter in they city will improve greatly—if this succeeds!
commute (N) – the trip to work each day
curb (N) the raised edge of a road, between where people can walk and cars can drive
estimate (N) – an educated guess, a calculated response
grass-roots – the ordinary people in an organization, rather than the leaders
halt (V) – stop; hinder
walkways – sidewalks, paths, and other areas reserved for pedestrians
Edit the sentence for comma, parenthesis, and dash use.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
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Practice 2
Gotcha!
Read Informal Writing
Last week one of my friends texted me asked if I wanted to see Iron Man 4 (like aren't there enough Iron Man movies already) and I was like OK (but I really didn't want to go (I just dint want to disappoint him so I agreed.))
So he said he'd come by my place at five and I was ready and waiting at the door at five, still waiting at 5:30 and by 6:00 o'clock I'm like OMG where is he (because I'm losing my Friday night).
So I called him and he was all "I'm sorry. I forgot. I'm here at Iron Man with so-and-so " (whatever her name is).
"Hey man, that's just wrong!" I told him (not to mention what a waste of my Friday night!) I was angry at him.
The next evening, I texted him to come over for pizza (his favorite) right before I took off for the night.
Later, he texted me ha ha, I was hungry, you got me, we're even.
I texted back "almost" (Cuz he still owes me a movie.) Don't get angry, get even. (an old saying)
The saying means like you shouldn't stay angry because that just poisons you. Rather you should do something to let the other person get how you feel (not violent though.)
Cuz – because [slang]
Don't get angry, get even. – Anger is poison. It is better to let the other person experience how you felt when wronged. This is best done in a humorous way.
gotcha – Got you back! Make a person feel how they made you feel.
we're even (N) two wrongs make a right? the wrong is settled
like (V) same as "said" or "spoke" [slang] He's like "What is that?"
In some teenage girls, a word spoken in between each word in a sentence. "Yeah, like, i think, like, Justin Bieber is, like, sooooooo, like, cool."
Put the slang into more formal wording.
- Edit the sentence(s) in the text box.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "Check 11-18" button at the bottom, or click the "Check" button to the left as you go.