PARALLELISM IN SENTENCES

DANCEL A. UDQUIM
DISCUSSANT
BARRIO OBRERO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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DO YOU WANT THEME PAPERS WITH LESS RED MARKS?

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 Today we will try to :

 Help you identify common sentence errors

 Give you easy ways to make corrections
 Enable you to develop your own
personal editing checklist

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But this TRAINING will NOT :

 Make your sentence errors disappear

 Guarantee “A” papers

 But it will help you get closer to your goal of

less red, more well -said

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Are you ready?

Let us Start.

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PARALLELISMS in SENTENCES

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WHAT IS PARALLELISM?
Using the same grammatical form for equal ideas is
called PARALLEL STRUCTURE
or PARALLELISM.

 Parallelism means that a series of words,

 phrases, and clauses that serve the same
function
 in a sentence should be given
 balanced and equal grammatical form.
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WHAT DOES PARALLELISM LOOK LIKE?

For example:
Direct objects should “match” each other.

I like golfing, hiking, and to travel to other countries.

I like golfing, hiking, and traveling to other countries.

We saw her pride in herself and how jealous she was
of others.
We saw her pride in herself and her jealousy of
others.
WHAT DOES PARALLELISM LOOK LIKE?
Another example:
Modifiers should “match” each other.

• Mike seemed sad, restless, and like he was

afraid of something.
• Mike seemed sad, restless, and fearful.

• Annie dances gracefully and with a lot of skill.

• Annie dances gracefully and skillfully.

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 WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT PARALLELISM?

Parallelism
• Makes your sentences more graceful
by giving them a smooth rhythm.
• Clarifies your meaning or logic.
• Shows connections or relationships.
• Creates coherence in your writing.

Do you agree?
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 What is so great about PARALLELISM?

• We use PARALLELISM to
give equal importance to
related sentence parts or
related ideas by putting them
in matching grammatical
structures.

Do you agree?
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 Are you ready to create parallelism?

MAKE ITEMS IN A SERIES PARALLEL

Most children would rather eat a hot dog,
chips, and a cookie.
(singular, plural, singular)
Most children would rather eat hot dogs,
chips, and cookies.
(plural, plural, plural=parallel)
Let us Start.

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 MAKE ITEMS IN A SERIES PARALLEL

I remember the sweet chirping of the birds, the way the

squirrels ran up the trees, and how majestic the trees were.
(gerund, phrase/clause, clause)

I remember the sweet chirping of the birds,

the lively scampering of the squirrels up the trees,
and the majestic swaying of the trees.
(all gerunds=parallel)

I remember how the birds chirped sweetly, how

the squirrels scampered playfully, and how
the trees swayed majestically.

(all clauses=parallel)
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ag
 HOW TO CREATE PARALLELISM?
REPEAT CONNECTING ARTICLES (a, an, the)
OR USE JUST ONE AT THE BEGINNING OF
THE SERIES.

• She bought a skirt, shoes, and a bracelet.

• She bought a skirt,a pair of
shoes, and a
bracelet.

• I ordered the onion soup, fried

chicken, and a chocolate sundae.
• I ordered the onion soup, fried
chicken, and
chocolate sundae.

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 HOW TO CREATE PARALELLISM?

•REPEAT PREPOSITIONS or USE

ONE PREP TO GOVERN THE WHOLE SERIES

•Sam said that his success came from honesty, from

hard work, and
by having a positive attitude.

•Sam said that his success came from honesty, hard

work, and optimism. OR

•Sam said that his success came from honesty, from

hard work, and
from optimism.

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 HOW TO CREATE PARALELLISM?

WHEN MAKING COMPARISONS, THE

THINGS YOU COMPARE SHOULD BE
WRITTEN IN PARALLEL FORM

My income is smaller than my wife.

My income is smaller than my wife’s.
(income)

Shakespeare contrasts the hot-headedness of

Tybalt with Romeo.
Shakespeare contrasts the hot-headedness of
Tybalt to the sensitivity of Romeo.
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 FAULTY PARALELLISM?

When related ideas or sentence parts are NOT expressed in

parallel structure, that is called FAULTY PARALLELISM.

•I pretended to have an itch on my ankle or that

my sock had slipped.

•Hank doesn’t like baseball or getting tackled.

•Jan likes taking hikes and to play tennis.

•The dog ran across the yard, jumped over the

fence, and down the ally.
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For now, see if you can spot and correct faulty parallelism.

1. In English class we are learning to read

poems critically and we appreciate
good stories.
2. Ralph’s IQ is higher than his brother.
3. Coach Dix is a sly strategist, a caring
mentor, and friend.
4. Mr. Smith keeps his store neat, well
stocked, and everything is clean.

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 PARALLELISM CONTINUED

Parallelism also means using similar kinds of

words when listing words in a pattern. If you
are listing items in a series, they should all be
the same type of word or phrase. For
consistency, make sure all of the pieces in your
succession are singular nouns, plural nouns,
verbs of the same tense, adjectives, etc.

Does this look right?

"Ryan is friendly, smart, and a good
athlete."

How would you improve this sentence?

P e ag
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 PARALLELISM CONTINUED

INCORRECT
"Ryan is friendly, smart, and a good
athlete.”
CORRECT
"Ryan is friendly, smart, and
athletic."

Changing a good athlete to athletic

makes it an adjective. Now it matches the other
descriptions of Ryan.

How would you improve this sentence?

P e ag
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 PARALLELISM CONTINUED

Try this one:

"When I grow up, I want to be a teacher,
a policeman, or work at a store as a
cashier."
CORRECT SENTENCE:
"When I grow up, I want to be a teacher,
a policeman, or a cashier."

The part about working at a store must be a noun to

match the previous two nouns (teacher and
policeman).

How would you improve this sentence?

P e ag
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 PARALLELISM CONTINUED

Here is a tricky one:

"A pediatrician is a children's
doctor, and a foot doctor is a
podiatrist."
Did you write this?
"A a children's
doctor, andpediatrici
a podiatrist is a foot
an
doctor."is

The kind of doctor is followed by an explanation

of the doctor's specialty, not vice versa.
How would you improve this sentence?
P e ag
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 PARALLELISM CONTINUED

Try this one:

"My favorite are the
fruits banana, grapes."
apples, and
"My favorite fruits are bananas,
CORRECT:
apples, and grapes."

You must make banana plural for it to match

the other fruits.

How would you improve this sentence?

P e ag
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 PARALLELISM CONTINUED

One more example of lack of

parallelism...
"Writing a book takes
dedication and being
creative."

You must change being

creative
to creativity. How would you improve this sentence?
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MORE ON PARALLELISM
When you write a sentence, two or
more parts of the sentence that do the
same thing should have structures that
match. Their structures should be
parallel.

This applies most clearly when you

use more than one verb in the
sentence, but it applies also to clauses
and other words that perform similar
functions.
Let's have a look at some examples.
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Parallelism Errors in Verbs

Incorrect: I like to play, to
sing, and drawing. play, to
Correct: I like to
sing, and to draw.

You could leave out the "to" in

the second and third verbs, because
the first "to" would cover them all.
But as you see, you could not say "I
like to can draw."
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Parallelism Errors in Verbs

Can you see the parallelism

error in the following
sentence?

He is good at
skating and to
play baseball.
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Other Parallelism Errors: Either/Or

Incorrect: We must either

raise more money or it
will be necessary to cut
expenses.
Correct: We must either
raise more money or cut
expenses.

Phrases connected by "either/or"

(or "neither/nor") must be parallel in
structure.
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Other Parallelism Errors: Incorrect Prepositions

Some parallelism errors arise when words

take different prepositions, even if the words
perform the same function.

Incorrect: She is interested and

excited about the film.
Correct: She is interested in and
excited about the film.

"Interested" and "excited" are similar

adjectives, but take different prepositions.
You can say "excited about" but not
"interested about."
 LET US TRY

Directions: Choose the sentence that

has no errors in structure.

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EXAMPLE

A. Eileen bought new shoes for the party,

a gold charm for her mother, and to
treat her best friend Maria to lunch.
B. Eileen decided to buy new shoes for
the party, purchasing a gold charm for
her mother, and treating her best
friend Maria to lunch.
C. Eileen purchased new shoes for the
party, a gold charm for her mother,
and lunch for Maria, her best friend.
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ITEM 1

A.Barking
dogs, kittens
that were
meowing, and
squawking
parakeets
greet the pet
shop visitors.
B.Barking
dogs,
meowing
kittens, and
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ITEM 1

A.Barking
dogs, kittens
that were
meowing, and
squawking
parakeets
greet the pet
shop visitors.
B.Barking
dogs,
meowing
kittens, and
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ITEM 2

A. During class, Adrian spent his time

flirting with Nicole, eating candy, and
doodling on the assignment sheet.
B. During class, Adrian spent his time
flirting with Nicole, he ate candy, and
doodling on the assignment sheet.
C. During class, Adrian spent his time to
flirt with Nicole, to eat candy, and
doodling on the assignment sheet.
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ITEM 2

A. During class, Adrian spent his time

flirting with Nicole, eating candy, and
doodling on the assignment sheet.
B. During class, Adrian spent his time
flirting with Nicole, he ate candy, and
doodling on the assignment sheet.
C. During class, Adrian spent his time to
flirt with Nicole, to eat candy, and
doodling on the assignment sheet.
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ITEM 3

A. Alex looked everywhere for his math book—

under the bed, on his desk, and he searched
inside the refrigerator.
B. Alex looked everywhere for his math book—
viewing under the bed, searching on
his desk, and inside the refrigerator.
C. Alex looked everywhere for his math book—
under the bed, on his desk, and inside
the refrigerator.
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ITEM 3

A. Alex looked everywhere for his math book—

under the bed, on his desk, and he searched
inside the refrigerator.
B. Alex looked everywhere for his math book—
viewing under the bed, searching on
his desk, and inside the refrigerator.
C. Alex looked everywhere for his math book—
under the bed, on his desk, and inside
the refrigerator.
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ITEM 4

A. The manager wanted staff who arrived

on time, smiled at the customers, and
didn’t snack on the chicken nuggets.
B. The manager wanted staff who arrived
on time, would be smiling at the
customers, and would not be
snacking on the chicken nuggets.
C. The manager wanted staff who arrived
on time, smiled at the customers, and
no snacking on the chicken nuggets.
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ITEM 4

A. The manager wanted staff who arrived

on time, smiled at the customers, and
didn’t snack on the chicken nuggets.
B. The manager wanted staff who arrived
on time, would be smiling at the
customers, and would not be
snacking on the chicken nuggets.
C. The manager wanted staff who arrived
on time, smiled at the customers, and
no snacking on the chicken nuggets.
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ITEM 5

A. After giving Jeremy her phone number, Felicia

had to tolerate his late night calls, stupid
conversations, and requests for her math
homework.
B. After giving Jeremy her phone number, Felicia
had to tolerate his late night calls, the fact that
he carried on stupid conversations,
and requests for her math homework.
C. After giving Jeremy her phone number, Felicia
had to tolerate being woken up late at
night, having stupid conversations,
and he constantly requested her math
homework.
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ITEM 5

A. After giving Jeremy her phone number, Felicia

had to tolerate his late night calls,
stupid conversations, and constant requests
for her math homework.
B. After giving Jeremy her phone number, Felicia
had to tolerate his late night calls, the fact that
he carried on stupid conversations,
and requests for her math homework.
C. After giving Jeremy her phone number, Felicia
had to tolerate being woken up late at
night, having stupid conversations,
and he constantly requested her math
homework.
 LET US PLAY

Directions: In the items that follow, choose the

correct word or phrase within the context
suggested by the sentence.

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ITEM 1

Pasta boiling in water, _, and

garlic bread baking in the oven welcomed
Francisco as he opened the door.

A.simmered tomato sauce in the pan

B.tomato sauce simmering in the pan
C.tomato sauce that simmered in the pan
D.saucy tomatoes that were simmering
in the pan
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ITEM 1

Pasta boiling in water, _, and

garlic bread baking in the oven welcomed
Francisco as he opened the door.

A.simmered tomato sauce in the pan

B.tomato sauce simmering in the pan
C.tomato sauce that simmered in the pan
D.saucy tomatoes that were simmering
in the pan
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ITEM 2

During our vacation in the Bahamas, we

hope , to enjoy beautiful
sunsets, and to dance ourselves dizzy at
reggae clubs.

A.that we eat delicious seafood

B.that eating delicious seafood occurs
C.to eat delicious seafood
D.eating delicious seafood
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ITEM 2

During our vacation in the Bahamas, we

hope , to enjoy beautiful
sunsets, and to dance ourselves dizzy at
reggae clubs.

A.that we eat delicious seafood

B.that eating delicious seafood occurs
C.to eat delicious seafood
D.eating delicious seafood
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ITEM 3

Karen wished
Ray chewed
with his mouth
closed, for
otherwise he
was everything
she wanted in
a date; he was
tall, intelligent,
and .

A.he looked
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ITEM 3

Karen wished
Ray chewed
with his mouth
closed, for
otherwise he
was everything
she wanted in
a date; he was
tall, intelligent,
and .

A.he looked
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ITEM 4

To win Laurie’s
love, Albert
visited the florist
for roses, the
drugstore for a
box of
chocolates, and
.

A.bought an
expensive gold
necklace
at the jewelry
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ITEM 4

To win Laurie’s
love, Albert
visited the florist
for roses, the
drugstore for a
box of
chocolates, and
.

A.bought an
expensive gold
necklace
at the jewelry
 Page 51

ITEM 5

Kimberly won’t date Terry because

he is too short, too noisy, and
.

A. because he picks his teeth with

his fingers
B. too impolite
C. is the most impolite man she has
ever met
D. Picking his teeth with his fingers
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ITEM 5

Kimberly won’t date Terry because

he is too short, too noisy, and
.

A. because he picks his teeth with

his fingers
B. too impolite
C. is the most impolite man she has
ever met
D. Picking his teeth with his fingers