Parallelism

Parallelism refers to the use of identical grammatical structures for related words, phrases,
or clauses in a sentence or a paragraph.
Parallelism can make your writing more forceful, interesting, and clear. It helps to link related
ideas and to emphasize the relationships between them. Once a grammatical pattern has been
established, the reader doesn’t have to strain to understand your meaning and ideas. Faulty
parallelism refers to the absence of parallel structure and the subsequent loss of clarity.
Achieving parallel structure
Parallelism ensures that similar clauses or phrases are uniform in expression and function. To
achieve parallelism, you must use the same verb, noun, adverb, or adjective forms consistently
throughout a sentence.
Consider the following examples:
1. Hashim likes dancing, swimming, and running.
2. Hashim likes to dance, swimming, and run.
In the sentence “Hashim likes dancing, swimming, and running,” all of the activities Hashim enjoys
are consistently presented as gerunds (verbs in their –ing form that act as a noun), which retains
parallelism. On the other hand, in the sentence “Hashim likes to dance, swimming, and run,” the
activities Hashim enjoys are presented in inconsistent forms, resulting in a sentence that is not
parallel. This results in a decreased flow, an awkward sentence, and an increased amount of work
for the reader.
Situations that require parallel structure
You will encounter many instances where you will need to make sure your sentence is parallel. The
most common situations are listed below:
Lists or series
All lists of things, qualities, or actions should take the same grammatical form.
1. Faulty: Sarah loves reading the newspaper, taking long walks, and to dance the tango.
2. Parallel: Sarah loves reading the newspaper, taking long walks, and dancing the tango.
Note that there are various ways to create parallel structure in a sentence:
1. For opera to take root in Great Britain, infrastructure was required: the building of financial
support, the training of singers, and the education of audiences.
2. For opera to take root in Great Britain, three things were required: building financial
support, training singers, and educating audiences.
3. For opera to take root in Great Britain, it was necessary to build financial support, train
singers, and educate audiences.

Grammatical Tip: when a list begins with a preposition, either include the preposition only at the
beginning of the list or include it before every item.
1. Incorrect:. Dictionaries are useful for learning to spell correctly and to prop open
windows.
2. Correct: Dictionaries are useful for learning to spell correctly and propping open
windows.
Nouns joined by coordinating conjunctions
1. Faulty: Among many cultures, rites of passage can involve feats of courage and sometimes
even doing dangerous things.
 In the previous sentence, the addition of the verb doing before the second noun disrupts the
balance of the sentence.

2. Parallel: Among many cultures, rites of passage can involve feats of courage and sometimes
even dangerous things.
Creating Parallelism Using Coordinating Conjunctions
When you connect two clauses using a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), make sure that
the same grammatical structure is used on each side of the conjunction. Take a look at the following example:
Faulty parallelism: When I walk the dog, I like to listen to music and talking to friends on the phone.
Correct parallelism: When I walk the dog, I like listening to music and talking to friends on the phone.
The first sentence uses two different verb forms (to listen, talking). In the second sentence, the grammatical
construction on each side of the coordinating conjunction (and) is the same, creating a parallel sentence.
The same technique should be used for joining items or lists in a series:
Faulty parallelism: This committee needs to decide whether the company should reduce its workforce, cut its
benefits, or lowering workers’ wages.
Correct parallelism: This committee needs to decide whether the company should reduce its workforce, cut
its benefits, or lower workers’ wages.
The first sentence contains two items that use the same verb construction (reduce, cut) and a third item that uses
a different verb form (lowering). The second sentence uses the same verb construction in all three items,
creating a parallel structure.
Exercise
On your own sheet of paper, revise each of the following sentences to create parallel structure using
coordinating conjunctions. Once done, please share with a classmate and compare your answers.
1. Mr. Holloway enjoys reading and to play his guitar at weekends.
2. The doctor told Mrs. Franklin that she should either eat less or should exercise more.
3. Breaking out of the prison compound, the escapees moved carefully, quietly, and were quick on their
feet.
4. I have read the book, but I have not watched the movie version.
5. Deal with a full inbox first thing in the morning, or by setting aside short periods of time in which to
answer e-mail queries.

Phrases joined by correlative conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions include sentence constructions that include either/or, neither/nor,
both/and, not only/but also, or whether/or. When your sentence includes these constructions, it is
important to proofread carefully for parallelism.

1. Faulty: Idrees is not only fluent in Urdu but also in English.

2. Parallel: Idrees is fluent not only in Urdu but also in English.
Since both nouns are modified by a single adjective (fluent), the adjective should be placed before
the first correlative conjunction (not only).

Where each correlative conjunction has its own verb, the correlative conjunction comes before the
verb:
Faulty: Idrees speaks not only two languages fluently but also plays cricket very well.
Parallel: Idrees not only speaks two languages fluently but also plays cricket very well.
Sentences that explain chronological events
Sentences must use verb tenses that are consistent and reflect the chronological order of events.
 1. Faulty: Kashif stopped asking for directions and starts using a map.
2. Parallel: Kashif stopped asking for directions and started using a map.
Because this sentence describes an event that happened in the past, both verbs need to be in the past
tense.

Creating Parallelism Using Correlative Conjunctions

A correlative conjunction is a paired conjunction that connects two equal parts of a sentence and shows the
relationship between them. Common correlative conjunctions include the following:
 either…or
 not only…but also
 neither…nor
 whether…or
 rather…than
 both…and

Correlative conjunctions should follow the same grammatical structure to create a parallel sentence. Take a look
at the following example:
Faulty parallelism: We can neither wait for something to happen nor can we takeevasive action.
Correct parallelism: We can neither wait for something to happen nor takeevasive action.
When using a correlative conjunction, the words, phrases, or clauses following each part should be parallel. In
the first sentence, the construction of the second part of the sentence does not match the construction of the first
part. In the second sentence, omitting needless words and matching verb constructions create a parallel
structure. Sometimes, rearranging a sentence corrects faulty parallelism.
Faulty parallelism: It was both a long movie and poorly written.
Correct parallelism: The movie was both long and poorly written.

Parallelism in proofreading
Using parallelism to remove repetition
Repetitive words can often be removed from a sentence if their removal does not detract from your
clarity.

1. Faulty: Alan picked up his computer. Alan picked up his books. Alan picked up his phone.
2. Parallel: Alan picked up his computer, books, and phone.

1. Faulty: In the morning, afternoon, and the evening...

2. Parallel: In the morning, afternoon, and evening...
Using parallelism for clarity
1. Faulty: Sarah is interested in Canadian art and poetry.

In the above sentence, we're not sure whether Sarah is interested in Canadian poetry
specifically or poetry in general. To ensure your meaning is clear, repeat "Canadian" and
retain parallelism.
2. Parallel: Sarah is interested in Canadian art and Canadian poetry.
 Creating Parallelism Using Than or As
When you are making a comparison, the two items being compared should have a parallel structure. Comparing
two items without using parallel structure can lead to confusion about what is being compared. Comparisons
frequently use the words than or as, and the items on each side of these comparison words should be parallel.
Take a look at the following example:
Faulty parallelism: Swimming in the ocean is much tougher than a pool.
Correct parallelism: Swimming in the ocean is much tougher than swimming in a pool.
In the first sentence, the elements before the comparison word (than) are not equal to the elements after the
comparison word. It appears that the writer is comparing an action (swimming) with a noun (a pool). In the
second sentence, the writer uses the same grammatical construction to create a parallel structure. This clarifies
that an action is being compared with another action.
To correct some instances of faulty parallelism, it may be necessary to add or delete words in a sentence.
Faulty parallelism: A brisk walk is as beneficial to your health as going for a run.
Correct parallelism: Going for a brisk walk is as beneficial to your health as going for a run.
In this example, it is necessary to add the verb phrase going for to the sentence in order to clarify that the act of
walking is being compared to the act of running.
Exercise
On your own sheet of paper, revise each of the following sentences to create parallel structure
using than or as. Once done, please share with a classmate and compare your answers.
1. I would rather work at a second job to pay for a new car than a loan.
2. How you look in the workplace is just as important as your behavior.
3. The firefighter spoke more of his childhood than he talked about his job.
4. Indian cuisine is far tastier than the food of Great Britain.
5. Jim’s opponent was as tall as Jim and he carried far more weight.