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Is it permissible/good style to have two parenthesized sentences in direct sequence, such as in the following example?

However, this could lead to problems with A (for given B) (though not necessarily affecting C).

I can think of no arguments either for or against such a practice, but for some reason I've always avoided it.

andreasdr
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    I try to avoid using parentheses anyway. The argument I would make against it is that there is probably a clearer way of structuring the sentence. – z7sg Ѫ Apr 05 '12 at 13:04

1 Answers1

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It's not immediately clear whether the second parenthesis applies only to the first, not to the first, or generally. Confusing the reader is never good writing, so I would say this is bad style though not ungrammatical.

Tim Lymington
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  • Parenthesis (the rhetorical technique of interrupting one's self, not the marks sometimes used to delimit it) does not necessarily (and this is an example of what I am talking about) apply to the immediately preceding words, or to any particular other part of the sentence. Two adjacent uses of parenthesis do not create inherent confusion about the referent. It could be very effective or very confusing depending on the wording. – MetaEd Oct 13 '12 at 06:29