English

GUM – Grammar, Usage, Mechanics

▪ Parallelism is a similarity of grammatical form for similar elements of meaning within a sentence or among sentences.

▪ Parallelism makes form follow meaning.

Nonparallel structure looks like this:

▪ Students capped their pens, were closing their notebooks,and zipped their book bags as they tried to alert Professor Jones, rambling at the lectern, that the end of class had arrived.

▪ Capped and zipped are both simple past tense verbs, but were closing is past progressive, wrecking the parallelism.

Parallel structure, the correct way to write, looks like this:

▪ To establish parallelism, you can use all simple past tense verbs:

▪ Students capped their pens, closed their notebooks, and zipped their book bags as they tried to alert Professor Jones, rambling at the lectern, that the end of class had arrived.

With 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.

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

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, accurately, and in a detailed manner.

▪ Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and thoroughly.

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.

# 1-5

RULE 1,

▪ Balance parallel ideas in a series.

▪ Readers expect items in a series to appear in parallel grammatical form.

▪ When one or more of the items violates readers’ expectations, a sentence will be needlessly awkward.

NOT PARALLEL

▪ Abused children commonly exhibit one or more of the following symptoms: withdrawal, rebelliousness, restlessness, and they are depressed.

PARALLEL

▪ Abused children commonly exhibit one or more of the following symptoms: withdrawal, rebelliousness, restlessness, and depression.

NOT PARALLEL

▪ Sam is responsible for stocking merchandise, writing orders for delivery, and sales of computers.

PARALLEL

▪ Sam is responsible for stocking merchandise, writing orders for delivery, and selling computers.

RULE 2,

▪ Balance parallel ideas presented in pairs.

▪ When pairing ideas, underscore their connection by expressing them in similar grammatical form.

NOT PARALLEL

▪ At Lincoln High School, vandalism can result in suspension or even being expelled from school.

PARALLEL

▪ At Lincoln High School, vandalism can result in suspension or even expulsion from school.

NOT PARALLEL

▪ Mother could not persuade me that giving is as much a joy as to receive.

PARALLEL

▪ Mother could not persuade me that giving is as much a joy as receiving.

RULE 3,

▪ Use parallelism with lists, headings, and outlines.

▪ The items in a list or outline are coordinate and should be parallel.

▪ Parallelism is essential in the headings in a formal topic outline.

NOT PARALLEL

▪ Changes in Renaissance England

▪ Extension of trade routes

▪ Merchant class became more powerful

▪ The death of feudalism

▪ Up surging of the arts

▪ Religious quarrels began

PARALLEL

▪ Changes in Renaissance England

▪ Extension of trade routes

▪ Increased power of the merchant class

▪ Death of feudalism

▪ Upsurge of the arts

▪ Rise of religious quarrels

RULE 4,

▪ A 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.

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.

Not Parallel

▪ The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that he would have time 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 he would have time to show his slide presentation, and that prospective buyers would ask him questions.

RULE 5,

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, pronunciation s, correct spellings, and irregular verbs.

▪ Parallel structure | Syntax | Khan Academy

▪ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l2FgUrln1A

▪ Justin was excited about inviting friends over, eating a good meal, and ___ .

▪ a. …a game of cards.

▪ b. …to play cards.

▪ c. ...playing a game of cards.

▪ I have always enjoyed reading the book more than _____________________.

▪ a. …I watched the movie version.

▪ b. …watching the movie.

▪ c. …to watch the movie.

▪ When the weather outside is cold and ________, I like to be indoors.

▪ a. …starting to get windy…

▪ b. …windy…

▪ c. …getting windy…

▪ Running, lifting, and ____________ are three of Ashley’s favorite exercises.

▪ a. …racquetball…

▪ b. …a spinning class…

▪ c. …bicycling…

1. 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.

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

3. 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 you 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 Structure.” OWL Purdue, 2019, https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/parallel_structure.html

▪ “Parallel Structure.” Chomp Chomp, 2019, http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/parallelstructure.htm

▪ “Parallel Structure.” Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2019, https://www.iup.edu/writingcenter/writing-resources/grammar/parallel-structure/