Download Parallel Structure

Parallel
Structure
A balancing act in writing
Parallel Structure:
Parallel structure means
using the same pattern of
words to show that two or
more ideas have the same
level of importance.
Parallel Structure Rules
O For a list of actions or items, you
must maintain parallel structure.
O To do this, use equal grammatical
units. If the first item is a noun, then
the following items must also be
nouns; if the first item is a verb, then
make the other items verbs as well.
How does parallel structure
look with nouns?
O Parallel structure, the correct way to write, looks like
this:
O At the garden store, Larissa bought , ,
and . .
O At the garden store, Larissa bought trees, flowers,
and shrubs.
O Each underlined word is structurally the same just like
the three pictures are the same; we call that a
parallelism.
How does parallel
structure look with verbs?
O Parallel structure, the correct way to write, looks like
this:
O At the garden store, Larissa bought , ,
and
.
O At the garden store, Larissa lugged trees to her
cart, selected bright pink flowers, and hastily
grabbed green shrubs.
O Each underlined word is structurally the same just like
the three pictures are the same; we call that a
parallelism.
What does nonparallel
structure look like?
O Nonparallel structure does not follow the formula.
It looks like this:
O At the garden store, Larissa bought , , and
.
O At the garden store, Larissa bought trees, flowers,
and hastily grabbed green shrubs.
O The first two words in the list are nouns. The final
part is a verb. They do not match; therefore, they
are not parallel.
The Solution
O Once you discover a nonparallel item, you
have two options.
O First, you can make it conform to the other
grammatical items in the sentence.
O Look at this example:
O We spent the hour in the waiting
room reading old magazines, eating stale
cookies from the vending machine, and we
wiggled on the hard plastic chairs.
O Explain both ways to fix this.
Special Cases
O Not only ... but also, either ... or, and 1
2
neither ... nor are all phrases that require
3
special attention when you are proofreading for
parallelism. These correlative
conjunctions require equal grammatical units
after both parts of the conjunction.
Case #1: Not only…but
also
O You can have two main clauses like this:
O Not only did Jerome buy flowers for his
mother, but he also purchased a bouquet for
Yolanda, his wife.
O “buy flowers” and “purchased a bouquet”
work because they are both verbs; in this case,
they have to be used in different tenses, but
they are still parallel.
Case #2: Either…or
O For a shorter sentence, use two prepositional
phrases:
O (prepositional phrase= preposition + object of
the preposition)
O Jerome bought flowers not only for his
mother but also for Yolanda, his wife.
O “for his mother” and “for Yolanda, his wife” are
both prepositional phrases
O This is a parallelism because the two prepositions
are equal grammatical units.
Case #3: Neither…nor
O Or you can have two nouns as this version
does:
O Jerome bought flowers for neither his
mother nor Yolanda, his wife.
O “his mother” and “Yolanda, his wife” are both
nouns.
O This is grammatically correct because both are
nouns, which follows parallel structure.
O
All of the previous information can be accessed at
http://chompchomp.com/rules/structurerules.htm
Simple Examples:
O Mary likes hiking, swimming, and
bicycling. (All are gerunds)
O Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a
bicycle. (All are infinitives)
O The production manager was asked to
write his report quickly, accurately, and
thoroughly. (All are adverbs)
Practice!
O Using the handout, follow
along with the interactive
presentation.
O Mark the answers down on
your paper as we go!
O http://chompchomp.com/str
ucture01/structure01.01.htm
Let’s Practice!
O For the next four slides, you will see an
image.
O Create a parallelism or a sentence with
parallel structure for each image.
O This can be done on your notes.
O Make sure to follow the formula and
rules!
Show what you know!
O Complete the handout and turn
it in to the folder when you
finish.
O Make sure you write your name!
Ticket out the Door
O On a half sheet of paper, respond to the
following question:
How does using parallel
structure enhance my
writing?