The dash is sometimes used instead of brackets before and after a parenthesis.
Example:—The man actually—this is in the strictest confidence—filled his pocket with my cigars when he thought I was not looking.
The dash is used instead of the colon where the word “namely” is implied but not expressed.
Example:—The sentence should be amended to read “—whenever and wherever the president shall determine.”
Parentheses[()]. —Parentheses are used to inclose an explanation, authority, definition, reference, translation, or any matter not belonging to the grammatical construction of the sentence.
Example:—He gained from heaven (’twas all he wished) a friend.
Brackets ([]).—The use of brackets is about the same as that of the marks of parenthesis, but is generally confined to words inserted in quotations for the sake of explanation.
Example:—Dickens has given a very lively account of this place [the Academy] in his paper entitled “Our School,” but it is very mythical in many respects.
Quotation Marks [“”].—Quotation marks are used before and after a passage quoted in the exact words of another.
Example:—“My very dog,” sighed poor Rip, “has forgotten me.”