---
title: parenthesis — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «parenthesis» in the school dictionary: A word, phrase or sentence put into another sentence as extra information, marked by brackets, commas or dashes. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parenthesis/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [P](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/) / parenthesis

# parenthesis

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Round brackets, cat, you, dashes, parenthesis, teacher · **What happens:** put, mark, show, do, be, sleep · **To what, where:** sentence, extra information, part, parenthesis, parentheses, maths · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«parenthesis» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [parenthesis in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/parenthesis.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: punctuation — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A word, phrase or sentence put into another sentence as extra information, marked by brackets, commas or dashes.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parenthesis:m1:1
# text = A word, phrase or sentence put into another sentence as extra information, marked by brackets, commas or dashes.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	phrase	phrase	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
7	put	put	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
8	into	into	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	10	det	_	_
10	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
11	as	as	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	extra	extra	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	information	information	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	marked	mark	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	acl	_	_
16	by	by	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	brackets	bracket	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
19	commas	comma	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	conj	_	_
20	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	dashes	dash	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put** | participle |  | sentence *not said here* |  | another sentence |  | as extra information | vn invest-13.5.4-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mark** | participle |  | extra information *not said here* |  |  |  | by brackets and commas or dashes | vn image\_impression-25.1 «NP V NP.theme PP.destination»: agent=Agent by bracket=Destination |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: US — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
One of the round brackets ( ).

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parenthesis:m2:1
# text = One of the round brackets ( ).
1	One	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	round	round	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	brackets	bracket	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	nmod	_	_
6	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	7	punct	_	_
7	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: maths — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Round brackets that show which part of a calculation to do first.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parenthesis:m3:1
# text = Round brackets that show which part of a calculation to do first.
1	Round	round	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	brackets	bracket	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	show	show	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	6	det	_	_
6	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	calculation	calculation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	ccomp	_	_
12	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | present | Round brackets | which part of a calculation |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent part=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **do** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | first *property* | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My cat, who is very lazy, sleeps all day — this is parenthesis with commas.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parenthesis:x1:1
# text = My cat, who is very lazy, sleeps all day — this is parenthesis with commas.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
4	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	very	very	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	lazy	lazy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
9	sleeps	sleep	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	11	det	_	_
11	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl:unmarked	_	_
12	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	15	punct	_	_
13	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	15	det	_	_
14	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
15	parenthesis	parenthesis	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
16	with	with	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	commas	comma	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | My cat |  |  |  |  | lazy *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **sleep** | present | My cat |  |  |  | day |  | vn snooze-40.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is a** | present |  | this parenthesis |  |  |  | with commas | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Put extra information in parentheses (like this).

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parenthesis:x2:1
# text = Put extra information in parentheses (like this).
1	Put	put	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	extra	extra	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	information	information	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	parentheses	parenthesis	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	_
6	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	like	like	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put** | imperative | you *not said here* | extra information |  | parentheses like this |  |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent information=Theme in parenthesis=Destination |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In maths, work out the parentheses first: (3 + 4) × 2 = 14.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parenthesis:x3:1
# text = In maths, work out the parentheses first: (3 + 4) × 2 = 14.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	maths	math	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	work	work	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	out	out	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	parentheses	parenthesis	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
8	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	11	punct	_	_
10	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	3	3	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	obl	_	_
12	+	+	SYM	SYM	_	13	cc	_	_
13	4	4	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	11	punct	_	_
15	×	×	SYM	SYM	Number=Sing	11	nmod:unmarked	_	_
16	2	2	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	15	flat	_	_
17	=	=	SYM	SYM	_	18	case	_	_
18	14	14	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	16	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work out** | imperative | you *not said here* | the parentheses |  | maths |  | 3 *obl*; first *property* | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent parenthesis=Topic |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Use dashes for parenthesis — they make it stand out.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parenthesis:x4:1
# text = Use dashes for parenthesis — they make it stand out.
1	Use	use	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	dashes	dash	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
3	for	for	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	parenthesis	parenthesis	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
5	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	7	punct	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	parataxis	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
9	stand	stand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
10	out	out	ADP	RP	_	9	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | imperative | you *not said here* | dashes |  |  |  | for parenthesis | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP PP.predicate»: agent=Agent dash=Theme for parenthesis=Eventuality |
| 2 | **make** | present | dashes *= dash* | parenthesis |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **stand out** | infinitive | parenthesis *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher asked us to add a parenthesis to our sentence.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parenthesis:x5:1
# text = The teacher asked us to add a parenthesis to our sentence.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	add	add	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	parenthesis	parenthesis	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | the teacher |  | us |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent we=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **add** *speech: assert* *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the teacher *not said here* | a parenthesis |  |  |  | to our sentence | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V NP PP.co-patient»: agent=Agent parenthesis=Patient to sentence=Co-Patient |
| 3 | **sentence** |  | our |  |  |  |  |  | nom sentence «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the US, ( ) are called parentheses; in the UK they are usually «brackets».

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parenthesis:x6:1
# text = In the US, ( ) are called parentheses; in the UK they are usually «brackets».
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	US	US	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	8	punct	_	_
6	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	5	punct	_	_
7	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
9	parentheses	parenthesis	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	18	punct	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	UK	UK	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	_
14	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
15	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
16	usually	usually	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
17	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	brackets	bracket	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** *speech: assert* | present · passive |  | parentheses |  |  |  | in the US | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V» |
| 2 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | parentheses *= parenthesis* | brackets |  | the UK |  | usually *property* | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [parental](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parental/)
- next →: [paring](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paring/)
- ↑ back to [P in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/)