When do you use parentheses and brackets?

Answer 1

The different types of brackets are:

• round brackets, open brackets or parentheses: ( )
• square brackets, closed brackets or box brackets: [ ]
• curly brackets, squiggly brackets, swirly brackets, braces, or chicken lips: { }
• angle brackets, diamond brackets, cone brackets or chevrons: < > or ⟨ ⟩

Parentheses (singular, parenthesis)---sometimes called round brackets, curved brackets, oval brackets, or just brackets, or, colloquially, parens --- contain material that could be omitted without destroying or altering the meaning of a sentence. Example: Sometimes I like to use parenthesis (they make everything more fun).

Square brackets are mainly used to enclose explanatory or missing material usually added by someone other than the original author, usually in quoted text. Example: I appreciate it [the honor], but I must refuse.

Curly brackets (also called braces, or "squiggly brackets") are sometimes used in prose to indicate a series of equal choices. Example: Select your animal {goat, sheep, cow, horse} and follow me.

Angle brackets are often used to enclose highlighted material. Some dictionaries use angle brackets to enclose short excerpts illustrating the usage of words.

An example can be:

I used the brackets to mark off important information in my research paper.