Mastering the Mechanics:
Parallel Structures
Atta Ur Rehman Jadoon
[email protected] Read a Sentence
High school students should wear uniforms because they
eliminate status, students’ expectations are raised, and
the safety of students is improved.
Find Fault
Fault in a Sentence
High school students should wear
uniforms because they eliminate status,
students’ expectations are raised, and the
safety of students is improved.
High school students should wear
The first point starts with a uniforms because they eliminate status
verb, but points 2 and 3
start with a noun
of the students, raise their expectations
of themselves, and improve their
safety.
Look at these Sentences
• I wrote the letter.
• I signed the letter.
• I sent the letter.
I wrote, signed, and sent the letter.
Parallelism/Parallel structures
• Using a consistent and balanced structure in a sentence or within a
series of sentences.
• An essential aspect of grammar and writing style that helps to improve
the clarity, flow, and readability of your writing.
• Commonly used in lists, comparisons, and various sentence structures.
Let’s Match Grammatical Structures
I like to jog, bake, paint, and watching movies.
I like to jog, bake, paint, and watch movies.
I like jogging, baking, painting, and watching movies.
Parallelism lends balance and grace to writing and faulty parallelism can
ruin a sentence without breaking any rules of grammar.
Parallel Structures are used in
• Series of Words, Phrases, Clauses, and Lists with colon
• Pair of Connected Ideas
Words
Words
Use of Parallel Structures
• Parallel Structures are used in
Series of Words, Phrases, Clauses, and Lists with colon
Pair of Connected Ideas
having an equal level of importance
Parallel Words
• On the word level, a noun should be grouped with other nouns, an
adjective with other adjectives, and so on.
The company is looking for a candidate who
is friendly, organized, meticulous, and is going to arrive to
work on time.
The company is looking for a candidate who
is friendly, organized, meticulous, and punctual.
Parallel Words
• When a series is composed of verbs, do not mix forms. For example,
mixing an infinitive with a gerund breaks parallel structure.
The participants in the workshop learned how
to communicate, negotiate, and working
collaboratively for the most effective outcome.
The participants in the workshop learned how
to communicate, negotiate, and work
collaboratively for the most effective outcome.
Parallel Phrases
• Parallel structure should be used to balance a series of phrases with the
same grammatical structure. For example, avoid mixing noun phrases
with verb phrases.
Initial trials showed that exposure to the chemical
caused memory problems, intermittent dizziness,
and deters sleep.
Initial trials showed that exposure to the chemical
caused memory problems, intermittent dizziness,
and sleep disorder.
Parallel Phrases
• As with a series of verbs, a series of verb phrases should use parallel
forms. Do not mix phrases based on an infinitive with phrases based
on -ing verbs.
Her main duties were answering phone
calls, filing records, and to conduct visitor
surveys.
Her main duties were answering phone
calls, filing records, and conducting visitor
surveys.
Parallel Clauses
• Parallelism is also applicable to a series of clauses in a sentence.
The report card stated that the student often talked in class, that
he bullied other students, and rarely finished his homework.
The report card stated that the student often talked in
class, that he bullied other students, and that he rarely
finished his homework.
Lists after a Colon
A list that follows a colon should always have parallel elements.
The dictionary can be used to find these: word
meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings,
and looking up irregular verbs.
(last item is a gerund)
The dictionary can be used to find these: word
meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings,
and irregular verbs.
all items are plural nouns
Parallel Construction in Pairs
• Use parallel construction when a sentence contains a pair of connected
ideas. Pairs can be connected by coordinating conjunctions, which
include and, nor, but, or and yet.
She planned to collect data by either using
an online survey or phone interviews.
She planned to collect data by either using an
online survey or conducting phone interviews.
How does this help us?
• Parallel Structure
• Extremely useful in writing as it helps add clarity to one’s writing.
• Helps to increase the readability of one’s writing.
• Ensures the rhythm of a sentence along with the grammatical balance.
• Unparalleled structure of a sentence containing two or more
information will result into rhythmical disruption or grammatical
unbalance in the sentence.
