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Shaynek Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

How to use parentheses within parentheses([{
Hallo.
I know it's completely useless and very confusing, but what are the rules surrounding parentheses within parentheses? My understanding is that, to separate a phrase, you would use "( )" first and "[ ]" to separate something within the "( )".

For example, if I want to put something in parentheses (to add a little info about it [and likely confuse people]), I would first use parentheses and then use square brackets inside.

What happens if you want to put another set of brackets within that second set?

For example, if I want to put something in multiple parentheses (to add a little info about it [and likely confuse {or annoy} people]), would I use the curly brackets as the third step?

If I wanted a fourth set, would it be "< >"?

I know there's probably no practical reason for using this many sets inside each other, and that you could easily format with different punctuation for clarity, but I want to know what is technically correct.

Thanks in advance,
Shayne
  

Top answer

It depends. The guidance I would give is to write with clarity in mind. In computer languages, the rules and syntax are very precise and rigid.

— AlpheccaStars

  • It depends.
  • The guidance I would give is to write with clarity in mind.
  • In computer languages, the rules and syntax are very precise and rigid.
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12 Answers
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It depends. For general English writing, I have not seen any rules.The guidance I would give is to write with clarity in mind.
In computer languages, the rules and syntax are very precise and rigid.
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What if you want to use an acronym within a parentheses as in (see the Technical Lab Report [TLR] for further instructions)? Is that formatted properly? Or would you use another set of parentheses as opposed to the bracket?
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The proper way is the use brackets within the parentheses, i.e.:

Johnny went to the store with his list of items (bread, milk [fat free], peanut butter, and jelly), but only came home with the bread.

Never use parentheses within parentheses.
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I just googled a related question, "how to use parentheses inside parantheses" and the link to this post came up. It (this post <and its solitary answer/reply>) didn't exactly answer my question, as I was only hoping to learn about a secondary set of parantheses within a primary set of parentheses, (not a set within a set within a set within a set) but it gave me my best laugh all day, if no
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It all depends on the style guide, and different publishers specify different style guides.

For example, this one, http://www.sdap.org/downloads/Style-Manual.pdf

(California legal style guide) says to start with parentheses and
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Anonymous .I am very prone to parentheses when I write. Sometimes I wonder if I am abusing them (parentheses), and if so, why? Also, I like slashes/dashes. But not as much as parentheses.
I am the same way. I think it is part of our natural style and preference, for me, part of the musicality of my writing. I think we may be abusing if our writing is confusing
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After looking this up for quite a long time I came to the conclusion that you are never meant to use parentheses within parentheses it is simply not a thing.

Wrong way:

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AnonymousWrong way:The World Wide Web(WWW, W3, or Web) is an information system that operates across the world wide web linking web pages to one another using Hypertext(Hypertext Transfer Protocol[HTTP]).
Your advice disagrees with at least one Manual of Style, and likely others. When you give advice such as this, please cite your references, and I don't mean
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Would you use slashes for a fifth set?
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If you get to a fifth set, you need to delete your sentence and start again.
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