Question

which sentences use brackets correctly? select the two that apply.

the next step in the recipe was to \add two tablespoons of sugar (or sugar substitute like splenda), two egg yolks, and one tablespoon water.\ after that, blend in one cup of self-rising flour (or one cup of regular flour and a half of a teaspoon of baking powder). finally, it said to \spread in the bottom of a nine-by-thirteen casserole dish and bake for twenty minutes and cool completely before the next step.\

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Rules for Using Square Brackets
Using brackets for nested parentheses and modifications inside quotes.

Step 1: Analyze the first sentence

Let's look at the first sentence:

"The next step in the recipe was to 'add two tablespoons of sugar (or sugar substitute [like Splenda]), two egg yolks, and one tablespoon water.'"

• Rule for nested parentheses: When you need to put parentheses inside parentheses, standard English grammar rules state that you should use square brackets [ ] on the inside to avoid confusion: (parentheses [brackets] parentheses).
• Application: Here, we have (or sugar substitute [like Splenda]). The square brackets are correctly nested inside the parentheses.

Therefore, this sentence uses brackets correctly.

Step 2: Analyze the second sentence

Let's look at the second sentence:

"After that, blend in one cup of self-rising flour [or one cup of regular flour and a half of a teaspoon of baking powder]."

• Rule for brackets in general text: Square brackets are primarily used to insert explanatory material or modifications into a direct quotation, or to nest inside parentheses. They should not be used in place of regular parentheses ( ) in standard, non-quoted text.
• Application: This sentence is not a direct quotation, nor are these brackets nested inside parentheses. Standard parentheses ( ) should have been used here instead of square brackets [ ].

Therefore, this sentence does not use brackets correctly.

Step 3: Analyze the third sentence

Let's look at the third sentence:

"Finally, it said to 'spread in the bottom of a [nine-by-thirteen] casserole dish and bake for twenty minutes and cool completely before the next step.'"

• Rule for brackets in quotations: When quoting someone, you use square brackets [ ] to insert your own words, clarifications, or corrections into the quote to make it grammatically correct or clearer to the reader, while showing that the original speaker did not write those exact words.
• Application: The writer inserted [nine-by-thirteen] inside the direct quotation to clarify the size of the casserole dish, which was likely omitted or phrased differently in the original recipe text.

Therefore, this sentence uses brackets correctly.

Answer:

The two sentences that use brackets correctly are:

1. "The next step in the recipe was to 'add two tablespoons of sugar (or sugar substitute [like Splenda]), two egg yolks, and one tablespoon water.'"
2. "Finally, it said to 'spread in the bottom of a [nine-by-thirteen] casserole dish and bake for twenty minutes and cool completely before the next step.'"