Parallelism

Comparable sentence parts must be structurally and logically similar.

Make what parallel?

Whatever you can – nouns to nouns, adjectives to adjectives, verbs to verbs...

How to decide what to make parallel?

Whenever any of the following:

And As X, So Y X is thought to be Y

But Estimate X to Be Y In contrast to X, Y

Or X is good, and So Too is Make X Y

Both/And Between X and Y View X as Y

Either/Or X Instead Of Y Declare X Y

Not/But X, Such As Y (example) Mistake X for Y

Not Only/But Also Compared To X, Y Whether X or Y

Rather Than X is known to be Y X Develops Into Y

From/To, X Acts As Y Think Of X as Y Not Only X (,) But Also Y

Distinguish X from Y Consider X Y X Differs From Y

X is the same as Y X is Less Than Y Regard X as Y

Parallel Markers
How do we know that parts of a sentence need to be parallel to each other? Often, we know
by spotting
Parallel Markers—words that link or contrast items and that force those items to be parallel.
Examples of parallel markers include the following:
Markers Structures Examples
And X and Y Apples AND pears
X Y, and Z Apples, pears. AND bananas
Both/And Both X and Y BOTH apples AND pears
Or X or Y Apples OR pears
Either/Or Either X or Y EITHER apples OR pears
Not/But Not X but Y NOT apples BUT pears
Not Only/But Also Not only X but also Y NOT ONLY apples BUT ALSO
Rather Than X rather than Y Apples RATHER THAN pears
From/To From X to Y FROM apples TO pears

The most important parallel markers are the three common conjunctions: and, but, and or.
Of these, and is the most common. However, do not limit yourself to these markers.
Any construction that expresses two or more things in the same way requires parallelism.

Elements Examples
Nouns Her expression reflected BOTH anger AND relief.
Adjectives The park was NEITHER accessible NOR affordable.
We collected BOTH second- AND third-grade books.
Verbs The custodian cleaned the basement AND washed the windows.
Infinitives We would like NOT ONLY to hear your side of the story BUT ALSO to provide
a response.
Participles The actor left quickly, shunning fans AND ducking into a car.
Prepositional It was important to leave the money in the drawer RATHER THAN on the
Phrases table.
(Note: the prepositions do not always have to be the same.)
Subordinate They contended that the committee was biased AND that it should
Clauses

Two parallel clauses often both start with subordinators in order to remove ambiguity.
Wrong: I want to retire to a place WHERE I can relax AND I pay low taxes.
Right: I want to retire to a place WHERE I can relax AND WHERE I pay low taxes.
Without the repetition of the subordinator where, the first sentence could be read I want to
retire... and I pay low taxes. Repeating the where eliminates ambiguity. The subordinators
do not have to be identical.

If the items in a list are long groups of words, such as clauses, that themselves contain lists,
you should be careful as you tally items.
Wrong: She argues that the agency acts with disregard for human life AND property
AND reckless abandon AND it should therefore be shut down.
The four underlined items, which are all connected by and right now, are not all at the same
logical level. Human life and property are parallel to each other, but not to reckless
abandon. Moreover, none of these items is parallel to the clause it should therefore be shut
down. To fix the sentence, create a clear hierarchy by repeating words and adding commas
where necessary. Also, you should flip lists so that the longest item is last, if possible.
Applying these principles to the example, we get the following.
Right: She argues THAT the agency acts WITH reckless abandon AND WITH disregard for
human life AND property. AND THAT it should therefore be shut down.

Idioms with Built-In Parallel Structure

X Acts As Y
Distinguish X From Y
X is the Same As Y
As X, So Y
Estimate X To Be Y
X is good, and So Too is
Between X And Y
X Instead Of Y
X, Such As Y (example)
Compared To X, Y
X is Known To Be Y
Think Of X As Y
Consider X Y
X is Less Than Y
X is Thought To Be Y
In Contrast To X, Y
Make X Y
View X As Y
Declare X Y
Mistake X For Y
Whether X Or Y
X Develops Into Y
Not Only X(,) But Also Y (the comma is optional)
X Differs From Y
Regard X As Y

Superficial Parallelism vs. Actual Parallelism

You always must figure out which grammatical structures are logically parallel before
making them structurally parallel. Be particularly careful with verbs and verbal forms.

John applied himself in his new job, arriving early every day, skipping lunch regularly,
AND leaving late every night.
In the sentence above, the -ing participle phrases arriving early every day, skipping lunch
regularly, and leaving late every night are parallel. The main clause, applied himself in his
new job, is not parallel to these participle phrases. This is CORRECT. The main verb is
applied, and the -ing phrases provide additional information about how John applied
himself. It would distort the meaning to change the sentence to this superficially parallel
version:

Wrong: John applied himself in his new job, arrived early every day, skipped lunch
regularly, AND left late every night.

This version gives all the activities equal emphasis, instead of making the last three activities
subordinate to the main activity (applied himself in his new job).
Do not assume that all verbs and verbal forms in a sentence must be parallel.

Each of the following sentences contains an error of parallelism in its underlined portion.
Write a correct version of the sentence.

1) Researchers have found a correlation between exercise and earning good grades.
2) Although we were sitting in the bleachers, the baseball game was as exciting to us as the
people sitting behind home plate.
3) Many teachers choose to seek employment in the suburbs rather than facing low
salaries in the city.
4) A good night's sleep not only gives your body a chance to rest, but also energizing you
for the following day.
5) The joint business venture will increase employee satisfaction and be improving
relations between upper management and staff.
6) The museum displays the work of a wide variety of artists, from those who are world
renowned to who are virtually unknown.
7) We were dismayed to learn that our neighbours were untidy, disagreeable, and they
were uninterested to make new friends.
8) The students did poorly on the test more because they had not studied than the
material was difficult.
9) The blizzard deposited more than a foot of snow on the train tracks, prompted the
transit authority to shut down service temporarily, and causing discontent among
commuters who were left stranded for hours.
10) The experiences we have when children influence our behavior in adulthood.
11) The band chosen for the annual spring concert appealed to both the student body as
well as to the administration.
12) Tobacco companies, shaken bv a string of legal setbacks in the United States, but which
retain strong growth prospects in the developing world, face an uncertain future.
13) Voters want to elect a president who genuinely cares about health care, the
environment, the travails of ordinary men and women, has the experience, wisdom, and
strength of character required for the job.
14) The consultant is looking for a cafe where there are comfortable chairs and that
provides free internet access.
15) Dr. Crock's claims have been not corroborated by other scientists or published in a

prestigious journal but have nonetheless garnered a great deal of attention from the
public.