# Parentheses

Some of us love to use parentheses. Unfortunately, some readers ignore
anything that appears in parentheses, so don't put important information in
parentheses if you can help it.

Even for less important information, whenever you're inclined to use
parentheses, consider whether they're necessary. Sometimes they are; however,
the sentence or paragraph might work just as well if you remove the
parentheses and set off the phrase or sentence by using commas, dashes, semicolons,
or periods.

If you need to include parentheses in the middle of a sentence, keep the parenthetical thought
short. Otherwise, consider using two sentences.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note**: If a full standalone sentence appears inside parentheses, the period also goes inside the parentheses, not outside.

Recommended: Enter a name for the instance---for example, `my-instance-99`.

Recommended: Enter a six-digit hex number (for example, `228B22`), and then click **OK**.

Recommended: Enter a six-digit hex number, and then click **OK** . For example, if you want the color forest
green, enter `228B22`.

Not recommended: Enter a name for the instance (for example, `my-instance-99`).

Not recommended: Enter a six-digit hex number (for example, if you want the color forest green, enter
`228B22`), and then click **OK**.

Don't use parentheses to indicate optional plurals. For more information, see [Plurals in parentheses](https://developers.google.com/style/pluralization#plurals-in-parentheses).