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Parallelism
Brenham Writing Room
Created by D. Herring
What is Parallelism?

Parallelism in writing means that similar parts
in a sentence (2 or more) must have the same
structure.
–
–

Their parts are comparable and balanced.
Allows writing to flow smoothly and helps avoid
misunderstandings.
When similar parts do not follow the same
structure, you have created Faulty Parallelism.
Understanding Parallelism

Use similar structures to express similar ideas.
–
Put nouns with nouns
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
–
Put verbs with verbs (and use same tense)


–
Faulty (F): I enjoy basketball more than playing video
games.
Correct (C): I enjoy basketball more than video games.
F: On our anniversary, we ate, danced, and were singing.
C: On our anniversary, we ate, danced, and sang.
Put adjectives with adjectives


F: My history class was both interesting and a challenge.
C: My history class was both interesting and challenging.
Parallelism in Pairs & Lists

When you present two or more items in a
series joined by and or or, use similar form
for each item.
–
–
–
F: I am doing well in my English class, in my math
class, and in history.
F: I am doing well in my English class, in my math
class, and my history class.
C: I am doing well in my English class, in my math
class, and in my history class.
Parallelism in Comparisons

In comparisons, the items being compared
must have parallel structure.
–
–
–
–
–
F: Driving to Austin is as fast as to fly.
C: Driving to Austin is as fast as flying.
F: Buying textbooks is almost as expensive as
tuition.
C: Buying textbooks is almost as expensive as
paying tuition.
C: Textbooks are almost as expensive as tuition.
Parallelism with Paired Words

When a sentence uses correlative conjunctions, the
items joined by them must be parallel.
–
–
–
–
–
–
F: My history course is both interesting and a challenge.
C: My history course is both interesting and challenging.
F: You must either make a C in the course or taking it again
will be the consequence.
C: You must either make a C in the course or take it again.
F: I would rather work hard and pass than to repeat the
course.
C: I would rather work hard and pass than repeat the
course.
How do I know if the subject or verb is
singular or plural?
NUETRALIZEYOUR SENTENCE
With the negative and positive S
Try it!
• Subject: student, Verb: study
1) The
singular
-s
+s
2) The
plural
+s
-s
Answer
• Subject: student, Verb: study
1) The student studies
-s
singular
+s
2) The students study
+s
plural
-s
Try it!
• Subject: Superhero, Verb: To fly
1) The
singular
-s
+s
2) The
plural
+s
-s
Answer
• Subject: Superhero, Verb: To fly
1) The superhero flies
-s
singular
+s
2) The superheroes fly
+s
plural
-s
1. Making subject and verb agree
when words come between them
• This box belongs in the classroom.
– Easy enough.
• This box full of books belongs in the
classroom.
– A little bit trickier.
• Remember to identify the subject of the
sentence.
The STUMPERS
#1 Phrases & clauses
#2 Indefinite pronouns
as subjects
#3 Sentence with multiple
subjects
#4 Inverted subjects
# 1 Phrases & Clauses
• Don’t be confused by phrases
that separate that subject from
its verb!
Examples
Try it! Write down just the subject, verb and
whether they are singular or plural
1) The shirt on the clothesline flaps in the brisk wind.
2) The manager of the rental units recommends that
we fill out an application immediately.
3) The singers, along with their publicist, hop into the
waiting limousine.
4) The salamanders in the vernal pool are
endangered.
Answers
1) The shirt on the clothesline flaps in the brisk wind.
2) The manager of the rental units recommends
that we fill out an application immediately.
3) The singers, along with their publicist, hop into
the waiting limousine.
4) The salamanders in the vernal pool are
endangered.
More Practice
• The bush of roses (looks, look) lovely next to the
fence.
• Sounds of music (floats, float) throughout the
neighborhood.
• Students who major in nursing (has, have) great
employment prospects.
• The leaves on the oak tree (is turning, are
turning) bright orange and yellow.
• The houses along Main Street (has, have) wellkept yards.
Let’s practice
• The man chasing the unicorns (is or are) on
the terrace.
• The teams, especially the one with the 6’4
forward, (is or are) very powerful offensively.
• One of my sister’s friends (is or are) 6’4 and
(enjoys or enjoy) chasing unicorns.
2. Indefinite pronouns as subjects
• One, anybody, anything, each, either, neither
and all of their derivatives are singular.
– Rule of thumb: all the words ending in –one
– thing and –body are SINGULAR.
– That means you should put an –s at the end of the
verb in the present tense.
• Everybody plays the fool sometimes.
• Neither of them enjoys playing the fool.
Practice!
• Everybody in all the groups (win or wins) a
fluffy unicorn.
• Each of the acrobats (want or wants) to be the
star.
• Neither of my friends (like or likes) playing
Scrabble with me.
More practice
• Which one of them (is or are) going to the
party?
• Neither the manager nor her assistant (has or
have) been notified.
• This class, along with many other classes, (is
or are) preparing me for my radiant future.
FYI: these indefinite pronouns are
always plural, obviously.
•
•
•
•
•
Both
Several
Few
Many
All
– Are, walk, think, eat, jump, etc.
– NO “S” ON THE END!
Whiteboards
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Each of the family members (has, have) one vote.
One of the boys (eat,eats) pizza every week.
Both of the answers (is,are) correct.
Neither of the sisters (was,were) gone today.
Someone (has, have) his own thoughts.
Much (has, have) happened since high school.
You know that others (has,have) tried this.
We can begin since everybody (has, have) arrived.
Everybody on the bus (was, were) going to Cleveland.
Everybody in our family (is, are) planning a trip this year.
3. A sentence with multiple subjects
• Don’t be confused when a sentence has two
subjects!
3. The rule for sentences with multiple
subjects:
….joined by ”and” are always plural.
A pencil and an eraser make writing easier.
…joined by ”or/nor,” the verb agrees with the
subject nearer to it.
Neither the director nor the actors are following
the lines.
For example
1) The coach and the players need to practice
after school.
2) The coach or the players need to practice
after school.
3) Neither the players nor the coach needs to
practice after school.
Whiteboards/paper
1. The teachers and the students (want or
wants) a vacation.
2. Both the movie and the play (was/were)
good.
3. Neither the books or shelf (was/were) in the
moving van.
4. Either the movie or the play (was/were)
good.
5. Neither the CD player or the CDs (were/was)
in the office.
Come up with your own sentences
using the following formats:
•
•
•
•
Neither....and
Either……or
None…..or
Both…..and
#4 Inverted sentence
• Don’t be confused when the
subject comes after the verb!
• Many start with
HERE, WHERE, or THERE.
Examples
Try it! Write down just the subject, verb and
whether they are singular or plural
1) Where does the football team practice offseason?
2) There goes the balloon that was tied to the
railing.
3) Here are the fossils that were embedded in
the cliff.
Answers
1) Where does the football team practice offseason?
2) There goes the balloon that was tied to the
railing.
3) Here are the fossils that were embedded in
the cliff.
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Pronoun Usage
+
How do you choose which pronoun
to use?

Subject Pronouns - Subject pronouns (I, You, He, She, It, They,
We) replace the name of the subject in the sentence.
Example: Mrs. Yen did not come to school yesterday. She had
to go to the doctor. "Mrs. Yen" is the subject and "she" is the
subject pronoun.

Object Pronouns - Object pronouns (Me, You, Him, Her, It, Us,
Them) take the place of the object in the sentence (the noun
that receives the action in a sentence). Example: After
Colleen bought a bike, it got stolen within a week, "it" is the
object pronoun used to replace "bike."
+
I or Me?

Example: Jennifer and I are meeting in San Francisco in July.

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Why not Jennifer and me? Because "I" is part of the subject of the
sentence.
Example: They gave the promotion to me.

Why not I? Because "me" is the object of the sentence.
+
Whiteboards
1.
Peter and (he, him) belong to the debate club.
2.
Miss Miller doesn't live far from you and (she, her).
3.
Sally and (she, her) played a duet in the piano recital.
4.
The Blacks and (we, us) had dinner together last night.
5.
(We, Us) girls made our dresses for he party.
6.
There has been a good relationship between the Flynns and (I,
me) for years.
7.
Give the awards to Alice and (I, me).
8.
Nancy and (I, me) played tennis yesterday.
9.
A package from the book store arrived for Jake and (I, me).
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MISPLACED MODIFIERS
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
(Note: Refer to Discovery, 320-324, for additional practice.)
When modifiers (adjectives and adverbs) are out of place,
too far away from the word they modify, the sentence will be
awkward or confusing. Misplaced modifiers may be single
words, phrases, or clauses. Study the following examples.
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

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1. The following words are often misplaced: almost, only, just,
even, hardly ,not, nearly, merely. Most often, these words are
placed in front of the words they modify.

Misplaced: My sister only has two children.

Correct: My sister has only two children.
2. Here is an example of a misplaced phrase

Misplaced: The little girl screamed at the library at her mother.

Correct: At the library, the little girl screamed at her mother.
3. Here is an example of a misplaced clause.

Misplaced: I held the ticket tightly in my hand that my friend gave
me.

Correct: I held the ticket that my friend gave me tightly in my
hand.
+
FIX THESE
1.
The tall boy led the parade with red hair.
2.
My brother just listens to one radio station.
3.
After dancing solo on stage, the audience applauded
Anna's performance.
4.
While taking a nap, the volcano erupted.
5.
The new student will take the corner seat wearing the
muscle shirt.
POSESSIVES &
PLURALS
S
It’s and Its
S It’s= It is
S It’s snowing again today.
S Its= posessive
S I hate Utah and its indecisive weather!
They’re—their—there
S They’re=they are
S They’re never right about the weather in the forecasts in Utah.
S Their—possessive!
S I always listen to their crazy predictions even though they’re
usually wrong.
S There—location
S Hawaii’s forecast looks good right now; maybe I’ll move there.
RUN-ONS &
FRAGMENTS
Fragments
• What are they?
• What is the name of the words that cause them?
• Dependent marker words!
• Here are examples: after, before, once, unless, which,
although, even though, since, until, while, as if, so, that,
when, who, as long as, how, than, where, whoever,
because, now, that, that, whether, why
• How can we fix fragments? Name the two ways.
• GET RID OF THE DEPENDENT MARKER WORD.
• FINISH THE THOUGHT.
EXAMPLES: use whiteboards
1. Some parents worry.
2. Hoping to get there on time.
3. It can kill you.
4. Valentine’s Day is one of these holidays.
5. When I first got my car.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
After I decided that I wanted floor mats.
Wearing extra large pants is a current fad.
The dentist that I go to.
The watch which I got fixed has just stopped working.
For example, we had no hot water in the morning.
Get into groups to do a practice.
Answer the following question for #1-10 in a group.
a) Is the word a fragment?
b) What is the subject?
c) What is the main verb?
d) Which word makes it a fragment?
ANSWERS
S: Casey and I. V : trapped. Not a fragment.
S: baby. V: none. F: “that.” (“Won” is part of a description because it follows
“that,” and “shouting” would need “was” in front of it to be a main verb.)
Fragment. Revision: “The team that won the game, shouting loudly, piled into
the bus.”
3.
S: the book. No verb. F: “which” ( “Lent” is part of a description because it
follows “which.”) Fragment. Revision: She lent the book to the new student in
the class.”
4.
S: they. V: didn’t know. F: “because.” Fragment. Revision: “Because they didn’t
know any better, they left the car running.”
5.
S: She. V: was famous. Not a fragment.
6.
S: none. No verb. Fragment. Revision: “He was bitter about having been left
behind and exhausted from walking home.”
7.
S: dog. V: sat. (Same as “a yellow dog sat under the tree.”) Not a fragment.
8.
S: none. No verb. Fragment. Revision: “To tell the absolute truth, I disagree.”
9.
S: none. No verb. Fragment. Revision: “Inside the crypt, hiding in a shadowy
corner, he wept.”
10. S: none. No verb. Fragment. Possible revisions: “She was running as fast as
she could to the store,” or “Running as fast as she could to the store, she
tripped over the curb.”
1.
2.