| Acknowledgements | 第1-5页 |
| Abstract | 第5-7页 |
| 中文摘要 | 第7-10页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第10-14页 |
| ·Purpose of the Research | 第10-12页 |
| ·Research material and method | 第12-13页 |
| ·Organization of the Thesis | 第13-14页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature review | 第14-19页 |
| ·Studies on independent syntactic structures/ constituents | 第14-15页 |
| ·Definitions of parenthesis | 第15-17页 |
| ·Relevant studies on parenthesis | 第17-19页 |
| Chapter 3 Comparing parenthesis on the syntactic level | 第19-31页 |
| ·Typology of parenthesis in English | 第19-22页 |
| ·Typology of parenthesis in Chinese | 第22-24页 |
| ·Discussion | 第24-27页 |
| ·The place of parenthesis | 第27-31页 |
| Chapter 4 Comparing parenthesis on the semantic level | 第31-40页 |
| ·Semantic typology of parenthesis in Chinese | 第31-34页 |
| ·Semantic typology of parenthesis in English | 第34-35页 |
| ·Further discussions on the differences among the semantic groups | 第35-40页 |
| Chapter 5 Comparing parenthesis on the pragmatic level | 第40-57页 |
| ·The pragmatic functions of parenthesis | 第40-55页 |
| ·The rhetorical functions of parentheses | 第55-57页 |
| Chapter 6 Suggestions of teaching parentheses in both languages | 第57-61页 |
| ·The importance of parenthesis in language teaching | 第57-59页 |
| ·Suggestions of teaching parentheses in both languages | 第59-61页 |
| Chapter 7 Conclusion | 第61-63页 |
| Bibliography | 第63-66页 |
