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Using periods, commas, colons, and...
Introduction
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Using parentheses with other punctuation marks such as periods, commas, colons, and semicolons can be complicated. Use these guidelines to decide how to use other punctuation marks with parentheses.
Examine the material enclosed by parentheses. Is it an entire sentence? If so, place the period inside the closing parenthesis.
Example: Margaret Fuller's major contribution to Transcendentalism was editing the magazine The Dial. (She also conducted discussions for women).
A sentence begins and ends inside the parentheses. Therefore, the period for that sentence also needs to go inside the closing parenthesis.
Revision: Margaret Fuller's major contribution to Transcendentalism was editing the magazine The Dial. (She also conducted discussions for women.)
If the parenthetical material is part of another sentence, place the period outside the closing parenthesis.
Example: Among the most famous Transcendentalists were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Bronson Alcott (the father of Louisa May Alcott.)
The parenthetical material is part of the preceding sentence. Therefore, the final period for that sentence should go outside the closing parenthesis.
Revised: Among the most famous Transcendentalists were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Bronson Alcott (the father of Louisa May Alcott).
Sometimes the parenthetical material is part of a longer sentence part that will be set off by a comma, colon, or semicolon. These pieces of punctuation always come after the parenthetical material, never before it or inside the parentheses. Watch for the comma in the example that follows.
Example: While traditional Christianity believed that divine intervention was necessary to improve human nature, (and to attain everlasting life) the Transcendentalists believed that humanity could be improved by relying on its own strength.
Revision: While traditional Christianity believed that divine intervention was necessary to improve human nature (and to attain everlasting life), the Transcendentalists believed that humanity could be improved by relying on its own strength.
Examine the use of the semicolon in the next example.
Example: Transcendentalism did not offer any clear set of beliefs (although it was an offshoot of Unitarianism, a New England religion;) rather, it was suggesting a way to view the world.
Revision: Transcendentalism did not offer any clear set of beliefs (although it was an offshoot of Unitarianism, a New England religion); rather, it was suggesting a way to view the world.
Remember: Use a period inside parentheses only if the enclosed material is meant to stand alone as a sentence. Use other punctuation marks inside parentheses only if the punctuation is part of the parenthetical material.
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