Parentheses, Brackets, and Ellipses

​Punctuation that encloses information that you insert into a quotation from someone else’s work in order to clarify the quotation.

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​Punctuation marks used in quotations to set off information inserted by someone besides the original writer or speaker in order to clarify the quotation.

Punctuation marks used to set off supplemental or explanatory material that is not meant to be part of the main sentence. Supplemental, or additional, material often includes words that define or explain another word.

When writers quote other texts, sometimes they need to leave out some of the material. They use ellipses . . . , or three spaced points, to indicate that material from a quotation has been left out.

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​When writers use ellipses to omit material from a quotation, the quotation should still make sense.

​Set off supplemental material in a sentence:

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My grandma bakes baklava (a Turkish dessert) every year for my birthday.

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Set off inserted information in a quotation:

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​In his speech, the mayor said that “we [the city] need to work together to raise money for our schools.”

​Set off inserted information in a quotation:

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According to the magazine article I read, “[Michael] Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.”

​Set off supplemental information that is a complete sentence:

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I drank an Arnold Palmer (it is a refreshing mix of iced tea and lemonade) this morning at breakfast.

Use ellipses to replace the boldfaced words:

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For six months the men floated on ice floes, and they ate penguins, seals, and the last of their supplies.

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​“For six months the men floated on ice floes. . . .”

Use ellipses to replace the boldfaced words:

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​When they got to the edge of the ice pack, the men launched their lifeboats and rowed in the tiny open boats for six long days.

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​“When they got to the edge of the ice pack, the men launched their lifeboats androwed . . . for six long days.”