f the clock, the calls from the press
room for more copy, these made Sears write like mad.

4. He made her acquaintance what do you think of this by
scribbling his name and address on some eggs he sold to a
grocer.

5. He obtained a position in a big department store--his good
taste was quickly recognized--within a month he was dressing
the windows.

=Parenthesis Marks and Brackets=

=95a.= Parenthesis marks may be used to enclose matter foreign to the main
thought of the sentence. (But see also 94a and 91e.)

Right: His testimony is conclusive (unless, to be sure, we find
that he has perjured himself).

=b. A comma or a semicolon used at the end of a parenthesis should as a
rule follow the mark of parenthesis rather than precede it.=

Right: If there is snow on the ground (and I am sure there will
be), we shall have plenty of sleighing.

=c. When confirmatory symbols or figures are enclosed within parenthesis
marks, they should follow rather than precede the words they confirm.=

Wrong: They earn (3) dollars a day.

Right: They earn three (3) dollars a day. [Or] They earn three
dollars ($3) a day.

=d. Do not use parenthesis marks to cancel a word or passage.= Draw a
horizontal line through whatever is to be omitted.

=e. Brackets are used to insert explanatory matter in a quotation which
one gives from another writer.= Explanatory matter inserted by the
original writer is enclosed within parenthesis marks.

Right: "Bunyan's masterpiece (_The Pilgrim's Progress_),"
declared the lecturer, "is out of harmony with the spirit of the
age that produced it [the age of the Restoration]." (Here the
explanatory words _the age of the Restoration_ are inserted
by the person who is quoting the lecturer.)

Exercise:

1. The supremacy of the horse-drawn vehicle is unless a miracle
happens now gone forever.

2. My count shows (41) forty-one bales of cotton in the mill
yard.

3. [Insert _the Marne_ as your explanation]: "It was this
battle," said the lecturer, "that made the name of Joffre
immortal."

4. [Insert _Florida_ as the explanation of the person you are
quoting]: "In that state oranges are plentiful."

5. It was the opinion of Bailey and events proved him right
that the government must assume control of the railroads.

=Quotation Marks=

=96a