Commas for Parenthesis
Commas can be used to separate a parenthesis from the rest of the sentence. It is also possible to use dashes or brackets. When used in this way, commas, dashes and brackets are called
'parentheses'. (See lesson Parenthesis.)
Examples:
 The second boat in the race, the 6-berth Kontarka, was crewed by school
children from Pembrokeshire. 
Last year's GB faggot-eating champion who works with my brother came
in here and ate two loaves of bread in one sitting. 
("who works with my brother" should be separated from the remainder of the
sentence using commas)
Although the use of commas for parentheses makes for a normal-looking sentence, they can become confused with other commas in the sentence.
Example:
Last night, Josie, an escaped wallaby from London Zoo, attacked two young
sisters, Rebecca and Josie, which is pure coincidence, Evans, in a bid to steal
their crisps.
(Although grammatically correct, the writer could have used a mixture of
parentheses in order to make the sentence clearer.)
Last night, Josie (an escaped wallaby from London Zoo) attacked two young
sisters - Rebecca and Josie (which is pure coincidence) Evans - in a bid to steal
their crisps.
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PARENTHESIS?
A parenthesis is additional information in a sentence. If a parenthesis is removed, the sentence still makes sense.
The defendant,
Mr Michael Evans, sat in silence.
("Mr Michael Evans" is additional information. This is a parenthesis.)
The last owner of the Red Lion,
who is my sister's friend, won over 4 million on The National Lottery.
("who is my sister's friend" is additional information. This is a parenthesis.)
Comments such as 'however', 'therefore', 'as a result', 'as far as I am
concerned', etc. fall into the category of parenthesis too.
John Winfield,
on the other hand, is an
experienced jockey.
We have really everything in common with America nowadays except,
of course, language.
(Oscar Wilde)
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