Ellipsis and Parentheses for Kids: Pauses and Extra Info (Grades 6 to 8 English)

Hi, I'm Luna from DoodleBeez. Today we will meet two handy punctuation marks. The ellipsis is three dots in a row. Parentheses are a pair of curved brackets. Each one has a special job.

An ellipsis can show a pause, or a thought that trails off. Well ... I am not sure. The dots slow the reader down, like someone stopping to think.

An ellipsis can also show that words were left out of a quotation. Writers do this to keep only the part they need. The meaning must stay the same.

Parentheses hold extra information that is helpful but not necessary. My aunt (who lives in Ohio) sent a card. Remove the part in parentheses and the sentence still works.

Parentheses are great for dates, numbers and quick explanations. The first airplane flight was in nineteen oh three (over a century ago). Bring three items (a pen, a ruler and paper).

Watch the period. If the parentheses are inside a sentence, the period goes after the closing bracket. If a whole sentence is in parentheses, the period goes inside.

Now it's your turn. Which mark fits? The giraffe, blank, the tallest land animal, blank, eats leaves. Pause and try. Parentheses fit. The giraffe (the tallest land animal) eats leaves.

Great job! Remember, an ellipsis shows a pause or left out words. Parentheses hold extra information the sentence can live without. Practice ellipses and parentheses in the English Lab at doodlebeez.com. See you next time!