Question

When in a document square brackets "[ ]" around a letter or around a word means what. I cannot find reference to this but I see it a lot?

Answer 1

It's usually when something is being quoted. And sometimes it's meaning to give emphasis on something.

Answer 2

Brackets are used to insert explanations or instructions that are not actually part of the sentence. i.e., The correct way to write the sentence is this: Each [singular subject] of the boys is [singular verb] here.

Use quotation marks (not brackets) in direct quotes (when you use someone's exact words). i.e.: The patient said, "My head has drums pounding on it." Or,
The patient said her head has "pounding drums on it."

Answer 3

Correction: The patient said her head has "drums pounding on it" [direct quote].

Answer 4

Brackets in a quotation is usually an inserted correction or explination by the person using the quote to (1) aid in the understanding of the reader and (2) make the sentence fit the grammar of the paper it is being inserted into.

Answer 5

Thanks, but that is none of the above have any remote relationship to the question. I obviously did not clarify my question. [T]ere are examples I have observed in [literature] and documents presented in the exact nature I have demonstrated here. I have scoured english texts and other sources to reveal what the brackets are performing grammatically or structurally. I have no idea, but the responses do not match [what] I have observed. Wpuld you like to give it another try or refere me somewhere that I might locate such information?

Answer 6

In the Table of Contents of the text, literature, documents, book, etc., you are reading, there should be a section for Explanatory Notes, Notes on Using the Text, How the Book is Arranged, etc., and you should find an explanation there. For example, a book that I am currently reading has been compiled using many incomplete documents, missing text, etc., due to age and other reasons; therefore, they place brackets around what they believe to be missing, per the instructions in their Table of Contents under Notes on Using the Text. Another very old volume that I am reading, per their instructions, they put brackets around words that have been interpreted for today's reader.

I hope this helps. If not, name the volume and I will see what I can find out for you.

Answer 7

Hi, a bracket around a word means, the author or whoever wrote or published the text is inserting a word or words that was missing, so the sentence will make sense to the reader. As for a bracket around a letter it means that either the letter was missing or there was a typo. Hope this helps! :)

Answer 8

Well. It is one of the better answers I have received. Can you direct me to a text or site that will provide a more indepth discussion of its useage?

Answer 9

They're generally used to further explain something. i.e. when an author adds a word into a quote that the original quoter had omitted.

Answer 10

@thedoctorscompanion has it right. Its for when you need to quote someone, but perhaps the tense of the verb doesn't fit with the sentence you're quoting them in, or a direct quote has a pronoun in it. For instance, the real quote might read "They made a huge mistake in how they dealt with it." But, in the middle of my news article, I might need to clarify and write: So-and-so said that the local police "made a huge mistake in how they handled [the arrest]."

Answer 11

Getting close but the response you gave is no way near how I am seeing it used. I must be dumber than a box of rocks, but none of these are matching the useage I am seeing. I will hunt down the sources I have observed the use of brackets in the manner I have mentioned. When a letter or a word is placed in brackets the context of the sentence remains the same. I am beginning to believe there is no answer unless it comes from a style manuel, APA, or another specialized text. Thanks for your efforts.

Answer 12

Glock, check out this website, it will give you the more indepth answer that you seem to need: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/when-and-how-to-use-brackets/

Google is a magical thing.