---
title: "Brackets and dashes for parenthesis"
description: "Use brackets, dashes, and commas to indicate parenthesis — additional information inserted into a sentence that could be removed without changing the sentence's core meaning"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/brackets-and-dashes-for-parenthesis-mt_m3-eXac3aP
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/brackets-and-dashes-for-parenthesis-mt_m3-eXac3aP.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Brackets and dashes for parenthesis

Use brackets, dashes, and commas to indicate parenthesis — additional information inserted into a sentence that could be removed without changing the sentence's core meaning

Subject: English · Area: Grammar & Punctuation · Ages 9 to 10
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/brackets-and-dashes-for-parenthesis-mt_m3-eXac3aP

## Ready when they can

- Insert a parenthetical phrase using paired brackets, e.g. 'The oldest building (built in 1642) stands in the town square'
- Use paired dashes to add an aside or extra detail within a sentence, e.g. 'My brother — who is older than me — lives in London'
- Choose between brackets, dashes, and commas for parenthesis based on how much emphasis the aside should receive, recognising that dashes give most prominence and brackets give least

## Lesson: Extra Info: Brackets, Dashes, and Commas

Sometimes you want to slip an extra piece of information into a sentence without breaking its main point. That extra piece is called a parenthesis, and you mark it off with a matching pair: two brackets, two dashes, or two commas.

**Example.** Brackets tuck extra info away quietly, almost like a whisper. 'The oldest building (built in 1642) stands in the town square.' Cover the bracketed part and the sentence still stands on its own: 'The oldest building stands in the town square.'

**Example.** Dashes do the same job but louder. 'My brother — who is older than me — lives in London.' Dashes come in pairs too: one before the extra bit and one after.

*(drawing: Think of each pair of marks as a volume knob. Brackets whisper the extra bit, commas say it in a normal voice, and dashes shout it.)*

**Tip.** Dashes give the most emphasis, commas sit in the middle, and brackets give the least. Whichever you pick, always use two matching marks, one on each side of the extra bit.

**Recap.** Extra info that could be removed goes between a matching pair: brackets for a whisper, commas for a normal voice, dashes for a shout.

## Practice

24 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Punctuating Direct Speech](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/punctuating-direct-speech-mt_-mw3JeIjhU)
- [Commas in lists](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/commas-in-lists-mt_ntqNLHsj5n)

## Opens up

- [Advanced Punctuation for Clarity](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/advanced-punctuation-for-clarity-mt_lsO9O-_eZH)