Sentences - Parallel

Structures
Words in a pair or in a series should have a parallel structure. By balancing the
items in a pair or a series so that they have the same kind of structure, you will
make the sentence clearer and easier to read.

not balanced:

Wild Bill enjoys hunting for rabbits, socializing with

friends, and to read the funnies.

balanced:

Wild Bill enjoys hunting for rabbits, socializing

with friends, and reading the funnies.

not balanced:

Miss America contestants must be religious,

talented, and show patriotism.

balanced:

Miss America contestants must be religious,

talented and patriotic.

not balanced:

Julie likes to wear soft sweaters, to eat exotic foods,

and bathing in bath oil.

balanced:

Julie likes to wear soft sweaters, to eat exotic

foods, and to bathe in bath oil.

Exercise 1
The unbalanced part of each sentence below is in bold print. Rewrite the
unbalanced parts so that it matches the rest of the sentence.

1.

Mrs. Grencher likes to water her garden, walking her fox terrier, and to yell at
her husband.
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2.

That afternoon she changed two diapers, did the ironing of two shirts, and
watched two soap operas.

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3.

The bacon was fatty, grease was on the potatoes, and the eggs were cold.
________________________________________________________________

4.

Lola plans to become a model, lawyer, or to go into nursing.

________________________________________________________________

5.

When I saw my roommate with my girl friend, I felt worried, angry, and
embarrassment as well.
________________________________________________________________

When two or more elements in a sentence have the same function, they should
have the same form. That is, they should be parallel.

not balanced:

Kayaking requires strength, courage and the paddler

must be experienced.

balanced:

Kayaking requires strength, courage, and

experience.

Exercise 2
Rewrite the following sentences, correcting the faulty parallelism.

1.

Jackson promised to be more careful, and that he would work more slowly.
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________________________________________________________________

2.

No one enjoyed the haying, the milking, or to plow except Bill.

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3.

Mark is not only talented as a pianist but also at acting.

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________________________________________________________________

4.

Id rather go skiing than to sightsee.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

5.

Eloise is easygoing, soft-spoken, and has patience.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

6.

To sing with a rock group and making lots of money was her big dream.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

7.

Steven will either enlist in the armed forces or learning computer programming.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

8.

These melons are ripe, juicy and have a sweet taste.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

9.

The ranger warned us to dress warmly and that we should keep dry.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

10.

Making a decision and to stick to it was something Bob couldnt do.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Shifts in pronoun reference often result in faulty parallelism.

faulty:

If one wants an application, you should ask the

principal.

correct:

If one wants an application, one should ask the

principal.
If you want an application, you should ask the
principal.

Shift in voice may also result in faulty parallelism.

faulty:

As the hikers rounded a curve, a peaceful valley

was seen far below.

correct:

As the hikers rounded a curve, they saw a peaceful

valley far below.
The hikers rounded a curve and saw a peaceful
valley far below.

Exercise 3
Rewrite the following sentences to eliminate needless shifts in person and voice.

1.

If one speaks Spanish, you should be able to understand Italian.

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________________________________________________________________
2.

Although Al tried to get to the stadium on time, the kickoff was missed.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

3.

When you see an opportunity, one should take advantage of it.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

4.

The cyclists reached the river, and then the bridge was crossed.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

5.

Because Judy stopped for a newspaper, her train was missed.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

6.

If you want to be taken seriously, one should think before one speaks.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

7.

Jo jumped when the door slammed, and the tray of dishes was dropped.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

8.

When we visited the auto plant, a great deal about assembly-line techniques was
learned.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

9.

Rosita kept the best items for her collection, and the others were sold by her.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
10.

If one wants a quick refund, you should file your tax return early.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Shift in verb tense often results in faulty parallelism.

faulty:

When the game ended, the fans rushed onto the

field.

parallel:

When the game ended, the fans rushed onto the

field.

Exercise 4
Rewrite the following sentence to eliminate shifts in tense.

1.

Bernard prepared the sauce for the pasta and put the bread in the oven.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

2.

Emily always wants to stay up for the late show but always fell asleep watching it.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

3.

His breakfast never varies; it consisted of yogurt and prune juice.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

4.

Billy Joe didnt like the tacos but eats them anyway.
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5.

The horse reared in the starting gate and throws his rider.
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Further Practice
In writing, parallel means similar, having close resemblance. When two or more
ideas in a sentence are alike in purpose, they should be expressed in the same
grammatical form:

words:

Gene is big, but graceful.

Midge wants to hop, skip and jump.
His manner is high, wide and handsome.

phrases:

At work and at play, Lisa always pushed herself

hard.
Over the river and through the woods, to
Grandmothers house we go.

clauses:

My spirits rose when I arrived in Puerto Rico, and

when I saw my roommate in the airport lobby.
I cannot drive in the province until I am seventeen,
and until I pass my drivers test.

Sentence elements that are coordinate in rank should be parallel in structure, i.e.,
a prepositional phrase should be coordinated with a prepositional phrase, an
infinitive phrase with an infinitive phrase and so on.

not parallel:

This book is out of stock and not being printed.

Parallel:

This book is out of stock and out of print.

Sentence elements following correlative conjunctions should be parallel in form.

The four common pairs of correlative conjunction are both ... and, either ... or,
neither ... nor, not only ... but also. Each part of the pair should be followed
immediately by the same grammatical form, two similar words, two similar
phrases, or two similar clauses.

not parallel:

You can either take the high road or the low road.

parallel:

You can take either the high road or the low road.

not parallel:

She not only is quite rich but also quite stingy.

parallel:

She is not only quite rich, but also quite stingy.

Exercise 5
Rewrite the following sentences, making the coordinate elements parallel in form.

1.

Not only was she noisy and rude but also rather stupid.
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________________________________________________________________

2.

Andre didnt like Liberals and especially to have one in the family.
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3.

I spend too much time both playing bridge and in talking.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

4.

Jay is a man whom people respect but is not very approachable.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

5.

At about noon every day the siren blows and warning the residents of another big
blast at the quarry.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

6.

The constant nibbling away of the rats and to hear them running across the foot
of the bed undermined Craigs confidence.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

7.

Later that year, having lost his job and unable to find another, he had to sell his
car.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

8.

My Uncle Julian wrote his autobiography which was uninteresting because

nothing had ever happened to him.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

9.

Students too often come to class with pencil and paper, carrying notebooks and
texts, and a torpid mind.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

10.

The admiral was told he was either a liar or he was a fool.

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________
Answer Key
Exercise 1

1.

Mrs. Grencher likes to water her garden, to walk her fox terrier, and to yell at
her husband.

2.

That afternoon she changed two diapers, ironed two shirts, and watched two
soap operas.

3.

The bacon was fatty, the potatoes were greasy, and the eggs were cold.

4.

Lola plans to become a model, a lawyer, or a nurse.

5.

When I saw my roommate with my girl friend, I felt worried, angry and
embarrassed as well.

Exercise 2
1.

Jackson promised to be more careful, and to work more slowly.

2.

No one enjoyed the haying, the milking, or the plowing except Bill.

3.

Mark is not only talented as a pianist, but also as an actor.

4.

Id rather go skiing than sightseeing.

5.

Eloise is easygoing, soft-spoken, and patient.

6.

To sing with a rock group, and to make lots of money was her big dream.

7.

Steven will either enlist in the armed forces or learn computer programming.

8.

These melons are ripe, juicy and sweet.

9.

The ranger warned us to dress warmly and to keep dry.

10.

Making a decision and sticking to it was something Bob couldnt do.

Exercise 3
1.

If one speaks Spanish, one should be able to understand Italian.

2.

Although Al tried to get to the stadium on time, he missed the kickoff.

3.

When you see an opportunity, you should take advantage of it.

4.

The cyclists reached the river, and then they crossed the bridge.

5.

Because Judy stopped for a newspaper, she missed her train.

6.

If you want to be taken seriously, you should think before you speak.

7.

Jo jumped when the door slammed, and she dropped the tray of dishes.

8.

When we visited the auto plant, we learned a great deal about assembly-line
techniques.

9.

Rosita kept the best items for her collection, and she sold the others.

10.

If one wants a quick refund, one should file ones tax return early.

Exercise 4
1.

Bernard prepared the sauce for the pasta and put the bread in the oven.

2.

Emily always wants to stay up for the late show, but always falls asleep watching
it.

3.

His breakfast never varies; it consists of yogurt and prune juice.

4.

Billy Joe didnt like the tacos, but he ate them anyway.

5.

The horse reared in the starting gate, and threw the rider.

Exercise 5
1.

She was not only noisy and rude, but also rather stupid.

2.

Andre didnt like Liberals, and he especially didnt like them in the family.

3.

I spend too much time playing bridge and participating in bull sessions.

4.

Jay is a man whom people respect, but he is not very approachable.

5.

At about noon every day the siren blows and warns the residents of another big
blast at the quarry.

6.

Hearing the rats nibbling constantly and running across the foot of the bed
undermined Craigs confidence.

7.

Later that year, having lost his job and being unable to find another, he had to sell
his car.

8.

My Uncle Julian wrote his autobiography, which was uninteresting because

nothing has ever happened to him.

9.

Students too often come to class with pencil and paper, notebooks and texts, and
torpid minds.

10.

The Admiral was told he was either a liar or a fool.

Bibliography
Langan, John, English Skills, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1977. p. 334 335
McClelland, Viviane, English Ninety-Eight, Doubleday Canada Ltd., 1983. p. 49
53
Shaw, Harry, Handbook of English, McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.., 1979. p. 312
315