Inside the bracket or outside the bracket?

Gonzor

I hope this is the right place for this type of question.

I am writing a short story and I'm not sure about the correct use of brackets

I'm sure you (and your friend both) know about....

OR

I'm sure you (and your friend) both know about....

I'm fairly certain its the first example, but I would appreciate some input.

Thanks

pickarooney

In the second example 'both' makes no sense if you leave out the bit in brackets so it can't be right. I'm trying hard to understand why you would need the brackets at all but I trust you have a good reason.

azzeretti

There isn't any need for a bracket in either of these examples.

Daftendirekt

You should use brackets when you want to insert additional (sometimes unessential) information into the flow of a piece of writing. If you can't delete what's contained within the brackets without making the sentence/paragraph/passage incomprehensible, then you're doing something wrong.

I'd leave them out altogether in your example. Though if you really need to use them, I'd do something like this instead:

I'm sure you (and your friend) know about...

Just looks a bit less strange to me.

odds_on

Or: I'm sure both you and your friend know .......

Gonzor

Thats so weird. I was sure I posted a reply ages ago (I really hope I didn't post it in a random thread somewhere :eek: )

Ok, without boring everyone the context is that the guy is being addressed in a letter. He is being chastised for something he and his friend did that was unethical/borderline illegal.

The letter/warning was aimed directly at him and there is no real reference to the friend in the letter. It is solely directed at the guy and his actions, then on the last paragraph it concludes...

'You (and your friend) should have known better then to.....'

The "your friend" comment is meant to sound like it was an additional thought that went through the writers mind just as he was writing the sentence.

I get the feeling if I take the brackets away then it will come across almost as if the person is addressing both people.

Grolschevik

'You (and your friend) should have known better than to.....'

This, in the context of the letter you have described.

Though dashes might also work, depending on what 'feel' you want to emphasise.

As others have said, the parentheses aren't strictly necessary, but I find that they sometimes add a qualitatively different sort of emphatic break than either commas or dashes.

EileenG

In a letter, you can write (and your friend both) but in general narrative, I would avoid brackets.

It's usually possible to reword so they are not necessary.

allaboutclicks

Are brackets like asides, like if you're saying something just by the by, and otherwise you use commas?

EileenG

Yes. Often used in non-fiction but becoming more and more rare in modern fiction.

Jess16

You can put whatever you like inside brackets as long as what's outside of them will make still sense independently