A parenthetical expression is an expression which is inserted into the flow of thought.

It may
be in the middle of a sentence or between sentences, but it does not deal directly with the topic
at hand.

A parenthetical expression is a phrase or clause that’s inserted within—in effect, it interrupts—another

phrase or clause. The larger structure is complete without the smaller structure, which could be an
adverb clause, as in the following four examples, or an added comment or remark that has no
syntactic function in the clause. I’ve italicized the parenthetical expressions, including the one in the
first sentence in this paragraph. Note that the expressions are enclosed in (surrounded by) pairs of
punctuation marks: commas or parentheses (round brackets), or dashes:
Strawberry jam, for instance, doesn’t make a good spaghetti sauce.
Uncle Charlie, when he was told about the escaped fleas, broke out in a blush.
Cobras, although they are essentially moody, like an occasional chuckle.
The tone of her letter, however, brought tears to Fang’s eyes.

It’s important to note that the commas that surround phrases and clauses that are inserted between
backbone functions don’t violate the rule that no punctuation can separate subjects and finite verbs:
the punctuation “belongs” to the parenthetical expression:

Fang, in fact, was furious.

But, of course, Miss Hiss was amused.

Jumbo, it seems, prefers peanuts in soy sauce.

Parentheses (or round brackets) set off material that is inserted as an explanation or comment. The
idea is to add information rather quietly (a brief definition or comment, for example), so as not to
distract the reader from the rest of the sentence:

Uncle Charlie (a reformed gargler) met Aunt Min (at that time a mouthwash therapist) at a
poltergeists’ convention.

Charlie was looking for a dealership in rubber adverbs (used in very tight clauses), but he would
have willingly fallen back on wooden appositives (a boon for the unimaginative essayist).

When I can’t think of any appropriate silly examples (for instance, after a strenuous evening with the
Boa Brothers), I try standing on my head.

In the sentence about Uncle Charlie and Aunt Min, no punctuation follows either parenthesis
because none would have been used without the parentheses. In the second and third sentences,
the commas that would ordinarily follow adverbs and examples come after the closing parenthesis
marks. The rule is that the expression in parentheses should come immediately after the structure it
comments on, before any other punctuation.

A pair of dashes is used to emphasize parenthetical expressions more forcefully:

Monty the Python—a snake in the grass if I ever saw one—often pretends to have fang aches.

Orange-nosed attack frogs—there’s one on your shoulder now—defeat their enemies by sucking out
their wits.

If I’m allowed to write a serious example sentence for once—I’ll probably be lynched for it—I’d say
that it’s best to use dashes sparingly.

Jack was injured by a booby-trapped plum—or so he claims.

8 Types of Parenthetical Phrases

A parenthetical phrase, sometimes called simply a parenthetical, is one that is not essential to the
framing sentence. In the preceding sentence, the phrase “sometimes called simply a parenthetical”
is itself a parenthetical because the segments of the sentence that precede and follow it can be
attached to form a complete sentence without it: “A parenthetical phrase is one that is not essential
to the framing sentence.”

However, a parenthetical can also begin or end a sentence, and though only these three syntactical
variations exist, a parenthetical can be categorized as serving one of eight functions. Here is a roster
of the types, with a sentence that demonstrates each one:

1. Absolute phrase: An absolute phrase, which contains at least a noun or a pronoun and a
participle but not a true verb, modifies the entire sentence: “Jane stayed up late, writing her report.”
(The phrase may also begin the sentence.)
2. Appositive: In this case, the parenthetical is an appositive, a noun or noun phrase placed in
opposition to another such construction that defines or modifies the first: “If you, an experienced
hiker, had trouble, how hard will it be for me?”
3. Aside: An aside is a statement that is subordinated to the sentence, often denoting an ingratiating
or apologetic attitude. It might also be placed within parentheses to more clearly identify it as a trivial
comment or between em dashes to signal its sudden and/or unexpected impact: “Her friend, I
hesitate to say, has betrayed her.”
4. Free modifier: A free modifier is an unspecialized interruption of additional information: “I stood
up and, brushing off my pants, continued along my way.”
5. Interjection: An interjection imparts information about the writer’s (or speaker’s) state of mind, as
in this sentence in which the interjection implies impatience or indignation: “Well, what do you have
to say for yourself?
6. Introductory phrase: This element preceding the main statement provides context for the
sentence: “While I was on vacation, I had an epiphany.”
7. Resumptive modifier: A resumptive modifier includes within its additional detail repetition of an
adjective from the sentence: “She was exhausted, more exhausted than she had ever been
before.”
8. Summative modifier: A summative modifier is one that summarizes an idea expressed in the
sentence and then adds information about it: “We headed toward the summit, a goal we had
anticipated accomplishing all week.”