方括號和圓括號

在英語中,「brackets」和「parentheses」指的都是括號,因此容易混淆。一般來說,parentheses 指的是圓括號 ( ),而 brackets 指的是方括號 [ ]。然而,現在的人已經傾向直接稱圓括號為「round brackets」,而方括號則稱為「square brackets」。

方括號的用途並不如圓括號那麼廣泛,技術手冊會較常出現。而圓括號的用法跟逗號相似,用來補充與句中重點相關的資訊、事後個人的想法或做評論,但這兩者仍有區別。許多文法學者都認為,幾乎所有情況下都可用逗號來取代圓括號。

舉例
  • The government's education report (April 2005) shows that the level of literacy is rising in nearly all areas.
  • I visited Kathmandu (which was full of tourists) on my way to the Himalayas for a trekking expedition.
  • You can eat almost anything while travelling in Asia if you are careful to observe simple rules (avoiding unboiled or unbottled water is one of the main rules to be aware of.)