Parentheticals
PROGRAM: “IN A WORD”
EPISODE: PARENTHETICALS
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
[FADE MUSIC]
I’m Candace Hastings with “In a Word,” your weekly communication tip.
For many writers, the ideal sentence is short and direct. Literature offers many examples of these straight-to-the-point sentences. “We didn’t always live on Mango Street”, reads the opening line of Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street. The subject of the sentence is immediately clear: “we.” And so is the action: “did not live.” Where? “On Mango Street.” That’s it. Simple.
This kind of spare language can be really clear and sometimes—when deployed artfully—powerful as well. But it’s rare to find such chiseled lines in everyday speech.
More commonly, speakers and writers wedge additional information into otherwise simple sentences. One structure for these wedges is a “parenthetic expression,” or, for short, a “parenthetical.” In writing, these parentheticals are set off by commas, dashes, or parentheses, depending on how disruptive they are to the flow of the sentence. Parentheticals are also common in speech. Listen closely to people telling stories at a party, and you’ll hear a lot of parentheticals—especially as the night wears on.
Here’s a famous example of a parenthetical, from the opening line of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s speech to Congress the day after the attacks on Pearl Harbor: “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” You probably recognize that phrase “a date which will live in infamy.” Structurally, that phrase isn’t necessary: if we remove it, the sentence would still make sense. Yet, clearly that aside adds an important historical dimension to FDR’s opener.
In general, parenthetical phrases encourage the reader or listener to see the relationship between ideas. That can be important, but sometimes people load up on parentheticals without knowing it, which can make the main point hard to follow. As a reader moves through the sentence, she has to hold on to the first idea until the writer finishes introducing all of the other ideas. Only then can she really begin to figure out how they all relate.
Try this the next time you write: After you’ve finished drafting a document—a report, an email, a tweet—read back through it, looking for parentheticals. If you’re getting too long-winded, cut a few of those wedged-in ideas.
This has been “In a Word,” a program made possible by the Texas A&M University Writing Center and a production of KAMU FM on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. For more writing and speaking tips, visit our website at writingcenter.tamu.edu. I’m Candace Hastings, helping you make every word count.
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
EPISODE: PARENTHETICALS
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
[FADE MUSIC]
I’m Candace Hastings with “In a Word,” your weekly communication tip.
For many writers, the ideal sentence is short and direct. Literature offers many examples of these straight-to-the-point sentences. “We didn’t always live on Mango Street”, reads the opening line of Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street. The subject of the sentence is immediately clear: “we.” And so is the action: “did not live.” Where? “On Mango Street.” That’s it. Simple.
This kind of spare language can be really clear and sometimes—when deployed artfully—powerful as well. But it’s rare to find such chiseled lines in everyday speech.
More commonly, speakers and writers wedge additional information into otherwise simple sentences. One structure for these wedges is a “parenthetic expression,” or, for short, a “parenthetical.” In writing, these parentheticals are set off by commas, dashes, or parentheses, depending on how disruptive they are to the flow of the sentence. Parentheticals are also common in speech. Listen closely to people telling stories at a party, and you’ll hear a lot of parentheticals—especially as the night wears on.
Here’s a famous example of a parenthetical, from the opening line of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s speech to Congress the day after the attacks on Pearl Harbor: “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” You probably recognize that phrase “a date which will live in infamy.” Structurally, that phrase isn’t necessary: if we remove it, the sentence would still make sense. Yet, clearly that aside adds an important historical dimension to FDR’s opener.
In general, parenthetical phrases encourage the reader or listener to see the relationship between ideas. That can be important, but sometimes people load up on parentheticals without knowing it, which can make the main point hard to follow. As a reader moves through the sentence, she has to hold on to the first idea until the writer finishes introducing all of the other ideas. Only then can she really begin to figure out how they all relate.
Try this the next time you write: After you’ve finished drafting a document—a report, an email, a tweet—read back through it, looking for parentheticals. If you’re getting too long-winded, cut a few of those wedged-in ideas.
This has been “In a Word,” a program made possible by the Texas A&M University Writing Center and a production of KAMU FM on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. For more writing and speaking tips, visit our website at writingcenter.tamu.edu. I’m Candace Hastings, helping you make every word count.
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]