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Parallelism

Parallelism to Clarify Meaning:

NP: Janet researches cell membranes and walls.

P: Janet researches cell membranes and cell walls.

INTRODUCTORY WORD AND KEY WORDS

The following chart identifies the most commonly tested parallel

structures:

Parts ofspeech/structures

Parallel Constructions

Nouns Trevor collects stamps, coins and cards.

Adjectives The wait staff wasprompt, friendly, and competent.

Modified Nouns A positive attitude can lead to bothpractical success and spiritual fulfillment.

Verbs We workedall day, ate all evening, and sleptall night.

Verb Infinitives I decided to swim across the river rather than sail around the world. (The second to isoptional.

ParticipialPhrases The rain continued to fall,providing waterfor the thirsty plants but flooding the streets as well.

Adverbs Ive noticed that you often howl angrilyafter you cowerfearfully.

AdverbialPhrases

Ive noticed that you often howl in angerafter you cowerin fear.

Anchors in Parallel construction:

A. (i)Not Parallel: I prefer to hire employees WHO work hard to those THAT dont.

(ii) Not Parallel: Ralph likes a variety of people, including THOSE WHO are popular and WHO are

not.

B. Not Parallel: During his trip to Europe, the president will discuss ways to stimulate trade, offer

economic aid and trying to forge a new coalition with moderate forces in China.

C. Not Parallel: Your battle field debriefing should include enemy troop strength and why you believe

the objective is necessary.

D. (i)Not Parallel: The topology course was both rigorous and a challenge.

(ii) Not Parallel: The interim Prime Minister is strong, compassionate and wants to defeat the

insurgency with a minimum of civilian casualties.

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E. (i)Not Parallel: Agreeing to modest cuts in health benefits is a tacit admission by the union

leadership both of its decreased influence and the increased influence of workers.

(ii)Not Parallel: In criticizing the team, the coach was not only referring to the poor shooting but also

to the numerous turnovers.

(iii)Not Parallel: Nineteenth-century nihilists were concerned with neither the origins of philosophical

thought nor how societal laws developed.

F. Not Parallel: To acknowledge that one is an alcoholic is taking the first step and hardest step to

recovery.

G. (i)Not parallel: The flower bouquet WAS the husband's giving of love to his wife.

(ii)Not parallel: The attitudes of that politician always SEEM TO BE attacking the poor.

H. (i)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.

(ii)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)

MOST IMPORTANT:

VIII.Superficial parallelism vs. Actual parallelism

To preserve parallel structure, it is important to pay attention to which grammatical structures- verb

phrases, prepositional phrases, adverbial phrases, etc. are logically parallel before assuming that they

must be structurally parallel.

OK: Ken travelled around the world, visiting historic sites, eating native foods, and learning about new

culture.

Do not become a victim of superficial parallelism by assuming that ALL Verbs in a

sentence must be parallel. Only the structures that are logically parallel must be

parallel.

Problem Set: Parallelism

SAT Questions on Parallelism:

Sentence Correction:

1. The Start- up company found it much easier to underbid on a job than completing the job on time,

a b

that caused financial problems when their clients withheld payment. No Error

c d e

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2. During the election campaign, the major political parties agreed that minorities must be given

opportunity to advance, to seek justice, and to the kinds of special treatment that might

a b c

compensate in part of for historical inequities. No Error

d e

Sentence Improvement:

1. The meaning of his words was even more elusive in his own country than either Europe or Latin

America.

2. Animal behaviourists are researching how bats respond to abnormalities in their environments,

detect light and sound, and communicate with each other.

3. Oscar Wilde was almost as brilliant a novelist as he was at writing plays.

4. A spokesman for the car company boasted that the new model was light weight, effective, and

virtually indistinguishable from the expensive model commonly used in movies. (Correct)

5. For many an inspirational writer, being free to create is more important than having a lot of money.

6. Women are not rejecting the idea of raising children, but many taking jobs as well.

7. Changing over from a military to a peace time economy means producing tractors rather than

tanks, radios rather than rifles, and to produce running shoes rather than combat boots.

8. Common Knowledge tells us that sensible exercise and eating properly will result in better health.

9. This Century began with war brewing in Europe, the industrial revolution well established,

and a nascent communication age.

10.It is often better to try repairing an old car than to junk it.

11.Jurassic Park, written by Michael Crichton, and which was first printed in 1988, is a novel

about a theme park of the future in which dinosaurs roam free.

12.Artists during World War I created performances and paintings that reflected the chaos of

war, the anxiety of the people, and they showed the irrational behaviour that was escalating

in the cities of Europe.

13.The Protest movements impact will depend on both how many people it touches and itsdurability.

14.Jasons article was pulled from the weekly paper because it claimed not only that he was

not being compensated fairly but the papers editors were holding a grudge against him.

15.The main points Senator Gutierrez made during his speech to the conventioneers was that

he had supported measures to improve health care for the working class and would

introduce a bill to fund a new bus route.

Exercise I: Correct the following sentences:(Level: Easy)

1. Mr. Thomas likes cooking, jogging, and to read.

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2. The employees were upset by their low pay, poor working conditions, and that they did not have

many outlets for their creativity.

3. Affy ran across the yard, jumped over the fence, and down the alley he sprinted.

4. The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and in a detailed manner.

5. 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.

6. Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method, while now the laboratory method is

employed.

7. The French, the Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese

8. In spring, summer, or in winter

9. It was both a long ceremony and very tedious.

10. Either you must grant his request or incur his ill will.

11.My objections are, first, the injustice of the measure; second, that it is unconstitutional.

12. The Writing Center needs tutors who are ambitious, motivate themselves, and exhibit dedication.

13. Not parallel: My income is smaller than my wife.

Exercise II: In each of the following 15 sentences, underline each individual sentence part.Then, rewrite each sentence ensuring structural and logical parallelism among the sentenceparts.(Level: Hard)

1. The connection between regular exercise and performing well in school continues to elude us.

2. Although we were sitting in the bleachers, the baseball game was as exciting to us as the people

sitting behind home plate.

3. Many teachers have chosen to seek employment in the suburbs rather than facing low salaries in

the city.

4. If he is not given ample recovery time after the operation, he is liable to be disoriented and may not

perform routine tasks well.

5. Many agree that how you dress for a job interview and even the way you position yourself in your

seat leave a lasting impression on your interviewer.

6. A good nights sleep not only gives your body a chance to rest, but energizing you for the following

day.

7. The joint business venture will increase employee satisfaction and starts improving the relations

between upper management and staff.

8. The works displayed in the photography exhibits were contributed by numerous artists, both those

who already had mass appeal and who never had much exposure.

9. We were dismayed to learn that most of our neighbors were unfriendly, disagreeable, and were

uninteresting to make new friends.

10. The students didnt do well on the test more because they didnt study not understanding the

material.

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11. The snow covered the train tracks by more than a foot, prompted the transit authority to shut down

service temporarily, and causing discontent among commuters who were left stranded for hours.

12. The experience we have when children still influence our behavior in adulthood.

13.The band chosen for the annual spring concert appealed to the student body and administration as

well. (BOTH -------- AND)

14.The new toy was the young mothers trying to appease her sobbing children. (ATTEMPT)

15. We decided to walk to the cinema rather than taking the bus.

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