Brackets, dashes and hyphens

For grown-ups: this lesson in words

Years 5 and 6 · English

Brackets, dashes and hyphens: I can add extra information with brackets, dashes or commas, and use a hyphen to make my meaning clear.

1. Here is a sentence about Mei. Mei has a pet rabbit.

   The words in brackets, my best friend, are extra information. We call this a parenthesis.

   Brackets come in a pair. One opens before the extra words and one closes after them.

   Picture: The sentence "Mei (my best friend) has a pet rabbit.", with "my best friend" marked as parenthesis and the bracket and the bracket underlined.

2. Here is the sentence without the parenthesis: Mei has a pet rabbit.

   It still makes sense. That is the test: a sentence must still work without its extra information.

   Picture: The sentence "Mei has a pet rabbit."

3. Your turn: Which words are the parenthesis, the extra information?

   Picture: The sentence "Aisha (who is nine) loves swimming."

   Choose one:

   • Aisha
   • who is nine
   • loves swimming

   Answer

   The answer: who is nine

   The parenthesis is who is nine. Aisha loves swimming still makes sense without it.

Words to know

parenthesis:

Extra information dropped into a sentence. The sentence still makes sense without it.

brackets:

A pair of curved marks that hold extra information: one opens, one closes.

dash:

A long line with a space on each side. A pair of dashes can hold extra information.

hyphen:

A short line with no spaces that joins two words into one.