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Square Brackets in Quotations
The Quick Answer
The main function of square brackets [ ] is to make a quotation more understandable. Square brackets are used for explanations. They show that the explanation is not the work of the original author. For example:- She said: "If I can't keep her [her horse], I'll scream the house down!"
- She said: "If I can't keep [my horse], I'll scream the house down!"
- She "scream[ed] the house down" when they took her horse.


Using Square Brackets in Quotations
Square brackets [ ] are used to make a quotation more understandable.Square Brackets to Make the Text Clearer
Square brackets are used to add information that explains the text it follows. (The information is added by someone other than the original author.) For example:- Hedy Lamarr once said: "Most people save all their lives and leave it [their money] to somebody else."
- "It [electricity] is really just organized lightning."
Square Brackets to Modify the Original Text
Often, square brackets can be used to replace text in a quotation to make the quotation clearer for the reader. For example:- Hedy Lamarr once said: "Most people save all their lives and leave [their money] to somebody else."
- Alice Cooper famously said that "from the moment [he] leave[s] [his] house or hotel room, the public owns [him]."
Square Brackets: [sic]
The term "[sic]" is used to show that the word it follows featured in the original text. Often, "[sic]" is used to indicate that a grammar error in the text was written by the original author. For example:- The minister believed that his statement was "appropriate and did not undermine the moral [sic] of our troops."
- Your demand for a "full compliment [sic] of men" cannot be met at this time.
Square Brackets: [...]
Ellipsis (three dots) is used to show that text has been omitted from a quotation. Ellipsis is usually written "..." or "[...]". For example:- It's no small irony that the government [...] ends up promoting precisely that which they would most like to repress.
- Andy Warhol is the only genius...with an IQ of 60.
A Video on Using Square Brackets
Here is a video summarizing how to use square brackets:Interactive Exercise
Here are three randomly selected questions from a larger exercise, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?