Words and PhrasesWith the -ing form (gerund) of words:

Parallel:

Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling.

With infinitive phrases:

Parallel:

Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a bicycle.

OR

Mary likes to hike, swim, and ride a bicycle.

(Note: You can use "to" before all the verbs in a sentence or only before the first one.)

Do not mix forms.Example 1

Not Parallel:

Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to ride a bicycle.

Parallel:

Mary likes hiking, swimming, and riding a bicycle.

Example 2

Not Parallel:

The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurate ly, and in a

detailed manner.

Parallel:

The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and

thoroughly.

Example 3

Not Parallel:

The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to

study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and his

motivation was low.

Parallel:

The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to

study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and lacked

motivation.

ClausesA parallel structure that begins with clauses must keep on with clauses. Changing to another pattern or changing the voice of the verb (from active to passive or vice versa) will break the parallelism.

Example 1

Not Parallel:

The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not

eat too much, and to do some warm-up exercises before the game.

Parallel:

The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not

eat too much, and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game.

— or —

Parallel:

The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, not eat too much, and

do some warm-up exercises before the game.

Example 2

Not Parallel:

The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there

would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that questions would be

asked by prospective buyers. (passive)

Parallel:

The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there

would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that prospective buyers

would ask him questions.

Lists After a ColonBe sure to keep all the elements in a list in the same form.

Example 1

Not Parallel:

The dictionary can be used to find these: word meanings, pronunciations, correct

spellings, and looking up irregular verbs.

Parallel:

The dictionary can be used to find these: word meanings, pronunciations, correct

spellings, and irregular verbs.

Proofreading Strategies to Try: Skim your paper, pausing at the words "and"

and "or." Check on each side of these words to see whether the items joined are parallel. If not, make them parallel.

If you have several items in a list, put them in a column to see if they are parallel.

Listen to the sound of the items in a list or the items being compared. Do you hear the same kinds of sounds? For example, is there a series of "-ing" words beginning each item? Or do your hear a rhythm being repeated? If something is breaking that rhythm or repetition of sound, check to see if it needs to be made parallel.

Parallel Structurecopyright 2006, 2004 Margaret L. Benner All rights reserved.

Sentence elements that are alike in function should also be alike in construction. These elements should be in the same grammatical form so that they are parallel.

Using parallel structure in your writing will help with

1) economy 2) clarity 3) equality 4) delight.

Here are some examples of parallel elements

These elements, on the other hand, are not parallel

Used in a sentence, they create a jarring effect and produce writing with unclear emphasis and meaning. We call such an error "faulty parallelism."

Writers generally use parallelism as a technique in the following five ways.

1. With elements joined by coordinating conjunctions, especially and, but, and or.

Examples of parallel words

Examples of parallel phrases

Examples of parallel clauses

The examples below show how to repair faulty parallelism.

Example #1

Example #2

Click on the link below to complete an exercise on parallelism with coordinate conjunctions.

Link to Exercise 1

2. Use parallel structure with elements in lists or in a series.

A series is a group of three or more elements in a row. The last element in the series is connected to the others with one of these coordinating conjunctions: and, or, but (not), or yet (not).

Commas should be placed between each element in the series and before the coordinating conjunction.

Examples of series

As the examples below show, a series whose components are not in parallel format sounds awkward and may cause misunderstanding.

Example #1

Example #2

Note that in the corrected versions of example #2, you may choose to repeat the "to" or to omit it.Click on the link below to complete an exercise on parallelism with elements in a series..

Link to Exercise 2

3. Use parallel structure with elements being compared. (X is more than / better than Y)

When we compare things, we often use words such as more, less, better, and worse, We connect the items being compared with words like as and than.

Note the comparison methods in the examples below.

The elements being compared are parallel to one another:

driving is parallel to flying

Miriam's ability to is parallel to her resolve to

How you live is parallel to how much money you make

Comparing items without using parallel structure may cause confusion about what is being compared to what.

Repair faulty parallelism in comparisons by making one element of the comparison parallel to the other.

Note that you may choose to change either element to match the other.

Click on the link below to complete an exercise on parallel structure with elements in a comparison.

Link to exercise 3 .

4. Use parallel structure with elements joined by a linking verb or a verb of being.

Joining elements with linking verbs or verbs of being suggests a completing of the first item by the second one. Often, in fact, an equality between the two is being set up, as the examples below illustrate.

Repair faulty parallelism with linking verbs or verbs of being by making one element of the equation parallel to the other.

Click on the link below to complete an exercise on parallel structure with linking verbs or verbs of being.

Link to exercise 4.

5. Use parallel structure with elements joined by a correlative conjunction.

These are the major correlative conjunctions:

either / or neither / nor both / and not only / but also

Correlative conjunctions work in pairs.

Whatever grammatical structure follows one must be parallel to the grammatical structure that follows the other.

Examples with either / or and neither / nor

Examples with both / and

Examples with not only / but also

Repair faulty parallelism with correlative conjunctions by making one structure parallel to the other as shown below.

With either / or

With neither / nor

With both / and

With not only / but also

Remember: Parallelism in sentence construction helps to create economy, rhythm, emphasis, and clarity in your writing. Use this writing technique to your advantage!

http://www.myenglishteacher.net/parallelism.html

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/parallelism_quiz.htm

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/parallelism2_quiz.htm