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Parallel Structure |
Parallel Structure: Sentences that have the same grammatical structure are said to be parallel. When elements that are part of a series or a compound construction do not have the same form, a sentence is said to have faulty parallelism.
Repeat articles, prepositions, and the word TO before the infinitive to make the meaning of a sentence clear.
Stated more simply: single words should be balanced with single words, phrases with phrases, and clauses with clauses.
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lacking parallel structure: I like to sing, to dance and reading
having parallel structure: I like to sing, to dance and to read.
having parallel structure: I like singing, dancing, and reading.
awkward: It is easier to love humanity as a whole than loving one's neighbor.
parallel: It is easier to love humanity as a whole than to love one's neighbor. Hoffer
awkward: What we say and the things that we do somehow seem out of joint.
parallel: What we say and what we do somehow seem out of joint. N. Cousins
awkward: The danger of the past was that men became slaves. In the future, there is danger because men may become robots.
parallel: The danger of the past was that men became slaves.
The danger of the future is that men may become robots. Erich Fromm
parallel: The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not. Mark Twain.
parallel: Put it before them briefly so they will read it; clearly, so they will appreciate it; picturesquely, so they will remember it; and above all, accurately, so they will be guided by its light. Joseph Pulitzer
parallel: Money may be the husk of many things, but not the kernel. It brings you food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; acquaintance, but not friends; servants, but not loyalty; days of joy, but not peace or happiness. Henrik Ibsen
Notice the similarities in the above parallel structure quote to the following email I had received in the mail:
MONEY
It can buy a House
But not a Home
It can buy a Bed
But not Sleep
It can buy a Clock
But not Time
It can buy you a Book
But not Knowledge
It can buy you a Position
But not Respect
It can buy you Medicine
But not Health
It can buy you Blood
But not Life
it can buy you Sex
But not Love
So you see money isn't everything.
And it often causes pain and suffering.
I tell you all this because I am your
Friend,
and as your Friend I want to take away
your pain and suffering...
So send me all your money and I will suffer for you.
A truer Friend than me you will never find.
CASH ONLY PLEASE
parallel: She had a dream to guide her, a mouse to help her, and a fairy godmother to give her magic. - Cinderella advertisement
We cannot control life's
difficult moments, but we can choose to make life less difficult.
We cannot control the negative atmosphere of the world, but we can control the
atmosphere of our minds.
Too often we try to chose and control things we cannot.
Too seldom we choose to control what we can - our attitude. John Maxwell
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POLITICAL STATEMENT - PARALLEL STRUCTURE
With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. Kennedy
We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.
Abraham Lincoln
You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Abraham Lincoln
In matters of principle, stand like a rock;
in matters of taste, swim with the current. Thomas Jefferson
So what have we learned today? If you want to write a great speech, or if you want to be president, take English III and study parallel structure.
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awkward: He expected a woman to have a good job, to be beautiful, and who would pamper his every whim.
parallel: He expected a woman to have a good job, to be beautiful, and to pamper his every whim. (All 3 items start with to & a very)
awkward: The client wanted a house with thirteen rooms, a three-car garage, and it should be in a good location.
parallel: better: She wanted a house with thirteen rooms, a three-car garage, and a good location. (all 3 are words than can be read smoothly after the preposition with)
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CHECKING YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Rewrite the following sentences using parallel structure:
1. The movie ended with the cowboy leaping on his horse, waving to his friends, and he rode away into the sunset.
2. Erich Fromm said that loving takes concentration, patience, discipline, and it also takes a supreme concern.
Make the supporting points of these thesis statements parallel:
1. The 55 mph speed limit should be retained in Connecticut
1. It has caused the accident rate to decrease
2. It has decreased gasoline consumption
3. Motoring is more pleasant
2. The 55 mph speed limit should be raised in Connecticut
1. Nobody follows the speed limit
2. So much congestion on the road
3. Drivers will become more attentive and daydream less.
3. Knowing how to write clearly will help me in college
1. It will help me think clearly
2. My essay exam grades will be higher
3. splendid research papers
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For extra credit added to your quiz grade - Find quotes that use parallel structure
You may E-mail them to me
The following are parallel structure sentences that were emailed that I particularly enjoyed:
Studying gains knowledge; observation gains understanding