what does it mean when these are used: [ ]?

Question

for example : "[there] was a problem when i first got here because [some of the other inmates] had a lot of lindsay's pictures hanging up." why put those word in brakets? i see it in magazines all of the time.

Answer 1

Hey I read that article. It was an interview with Lindsey Lohan's dad right? LoL
Legallyblond2day is right. Its used to show that something in that quote was not original. Like maybe he really said "I had a problem when I first got here because they had a lot of Lindsey's pictures hanging up."

Answer 2

It means that it was a direct quotation that either left out information, or was wrong, but because it is a quote, you put it in brackets to show what is yours.

For example:

[some of the other inmates] Probably replaced the word "they" since a magazine subscriber might not know who "they" were.

Answer 3

You've probably seen it within quotes. When you're quoting someone, and you change a word, you need to put it in square brackets to show that it isn't part of the original quote.
For example, if the original quote is:
"I like dogs."
then someone quoting that would say "[She likes] dogs."

Answer 4

It replaces the actual words for either the purposes of clarification or it replaces a word that is otherwise vulgar with something more understandable

Answer 5

There is no reason to have those words in that sentence in brackets. I think that it's meant to be used to insert words that can be useful into a sentence that's not structured for those words. Kind of like an afterthought. I hope this makes sense.

Answer 6

It means look at these words, they are in a cute little box.