LESSON 20

English 9
 What are your
observations in the
images displayed?
How can you relate the images in
forming sentences?
PARALLELISM
 Objectives
define parallelism
spot examples of parallelism
correct examples of faulty
parallelism
 -is an adjective that
What is PARALLEL?
means being everywhere
equidistant.
 Parallelism
It is when phrases in a sentence have similar
or the same grammatical structure.
provides a phrase with balance and clarity
serves to give phrases a pattern adn rhythm
the repetition of two grammatical form in
two or more parts if a sentence.
 Which is correct?
"It is better to "It is better to
give than give than to
receiving." receive."
 Which is correct?
"Simple is beauty." "Simplicity is
beauty."
Which word among the following has a different
grammatical form?

dig, cook, dance, singing

Which word among the following has a different
grammatical form?

dig, cook, dance, singing

dig, cook, dance, sing

Basic form or infinitive form
Which word among the following has a different
grammatical form?

locked, ate, took,

looked, waits, ran
Which word among the following has a different
grammatical form?

locked, ate, took,

looked, waits, ran

Simple form/ singular

locked, ate, took,
looked, waited, ran Past form
Which word among the following has a different
grammatical form?

beautiful, simple, intelligent,

actively, lazy
Which word among the following has a different
grammatical form?

beautiful, simple, intelligent,

actively, lazy

Adverb
beautiful, simple, intelligent,
active, lazy Adjective
 A. I like to jog, bake, paint, and
watch movies.

Which has a

B. I like to jog, bake, paint, and

watching movies.
parallel

C. I like to jogging, baking,

structure? painting, and watching movies.

 A. I like to jog, bake, paint, and
watch movies.

Which has a

B. I like to jog, bake, paint, and

watching movies.
parallel

C. I like to jogging, baking,

structure? painting, and watching movies.

 Remember
When a series is composed of
verbs, do not mix forms. For
example, mixing an infinitive (a
verb beginning with to) with a
gerund (a verb form ending in -
ing) breaks parallel structure.
 Remember
On the word level, a noun
should be grouped with other
nouns, an adjective with
other adjectives, and so on.
 A. The company is looking for a
candidate who is friendly,
organized, meticulous, and is

Which has a
going to arrive to work on
time.

parallel B. The company is looking for a

candidate who is friendly,

structure? organized, meticulous, and

punctual.
 A. The company is looking for a
candidate who is friendly,
organized, meticulous, and is

Which has a
going to arrive to work on
time.

parallel B. The company is looking for a

candidate who is friendly,

structure? organized, meticulous, and

punctual.
 Remember
Parallel structure should be used to balance a
series of phrases with the same grammatical
structure. For example, avoid mixing noun
phrases with verb phrases.
 A. Initial trials showed that
exposure to the chemical
caused memory problems,

Which has a
intermittent dizziness, and
prevents sleep.

parallel B. Initial trials showed that

exposure to the chemical

structure? caused memory problems,

intermittent dizziness, and
insomnia.
 A. Initial trials showed that
exposure to the chemical
caused memory problems,

Which has a
intermittent dizziness, and
prevents sleep.

parallel B. Initial trials showed that

exposure to the chemical

structure? caused memory problems,

intermittent dizziness, and
insomnia.
 Remember
Parallelism is also
applicable to a series of
clauses in a sentence.
 A. The report card stated that
the student often talked in
class, that he bullied other

Which has a
students, and rarely finished
his homework.

parallel B. The report card stated that

the student often talked in

structure? class, that he bullied other

students, and that he rarely
finished his homework.
 A. The report card stated that
the student often talked in
class, that he bullied other
students, and rarely finished
Which has a his homework. adverbial clause

parallel B. The report card stated that

the student often talked in

structure?
class, that he bullied other
students, and that he rarely
finished his homework.
that clause
 Remember
List after colon (:)
A list that follows a colon should
always have parallel elements.
 A. mainstream economists have attributed the recession
to several key causes: deregulation policies, spike in
interest rates, manufacturing orders declining, and the
emergence of asset bubbles.

Which has a

B. mainstream economists have attributed the recession

to several key causes: the enactment of deregulation
policies, the spike in interest rates, the decline in

parallel
manufacturing orders, and the emergence of asset
bubbles.

C. mainstream economists have attributed the recession

structure?
to several key causes: deregulation policies, high
interest rates, low manufacturing orders, and asset
bubbles.
 A. mainstream economists have attributed the recession
to several key causes: deregulation policies, spike in
interest rates, manufacturing orders declining, and the
emergence of asset bubbles.

Which has a

B. mainstream economists have attributed the recession

to several key causes: the enactment of deregulation
policies, the spike in interest rates, the decline in

parallel
manufacturing orders, and the emergence of asset
bubbles.

C. mainstream economists have attributed the recession

structure?
to several key causes: deregulation policies, high
interest rates, low manufacturing orders, and asset
bubbles.
 Remember
Parallel Construction in pairs
Use parallel construction when a sentence
Contains a pair of connected ideas. Pairs can be
connected by coordinating conjunctions, which
include AND, NOR, BUT, OR and YET.
 A. She planned to collect data by either
using an online survye or phone
interviews.

Which has a

B. She planned to collect data by either

using an online survye or conducting

parallel phone interviews.

C. She planned to collect data through

structure? either online survey or phone
interviews.
 Verb phrase noun phrase

A. She planned to collect data by either

using an online survey or phone
interviews.

Which has a

B. She planned to collect data by either

using an online survey or conducting

parallel VP phone interviews. VP

C. She planned to collect data through

structure? NP
either online survey or phone
interviews.
NP
 Remember
Use parallel construction when a
pair of ideas are linked by a
correlative conjunction, such as
NOT ONLY...BUT ALSO, EITHER...OR, and
NEITHER...NOR.
The same rule applies to pairs
connected by a word of comparison,
such as OVER, THAN or AS.
 A. His paper argues that the
distinctive divergence in the two
artists' styles was not only shaped by

Which has a their mutual rivalry but also because

of the idiosyncratic tastes of patrons.

parallel B. His paper argues that the distinctive

divergence in the two artists' styles
was not only by their mutual rivalry
structure? but also by the idiosyncratic tastes of
patrons.
 A. His paper argues that the
distinctive divergence in the two
artists' styles was not only shaped by

Which has a their mutual rivalry but also because

of the idiosyncratic tastes of patrons.

parallel B. His paper argues that the distinctive

divergence in the two artists' styles
was not only by their mutual rivalry
structure? but also by the idiosyncratic tastes of
patrons.
 Remember
Outlines and Headings
Heading that divide a paper into
sections should be parallel.
Likewise, a parallel structure
should be applied to elements in
paper outline.
 1. Origin of homeopathy
2. Initial reception
3. Rising to popularity in the 19th

Which has a
century
4. Recent studies show lack of
evidence

parallel 1. Origin of homeopathy

2. Initial reception

structure?
3. Rise to popularity in the 19th
century
4. Lack of evidence in recent
studies
 1. Origin of homeopathy NP
2. Initial reception NP
3. Rising to popularity in the 19th

Which has a
century VP
4. Recent studies show lack of
evidence ADV.P

parallel 1. Origin of homeopathy

2. Initial reception

structure?
3. Rise to popularity in the 19th
century
4. Lack of evidence in recent
NP
studies
 Maintaining parallel structure helps you avoid
grammatically incorrect sentences and improves
your writing style. Although lack of parallelism is
not always strictly incorrect, sentences with
parallel structure are easier to read and add a
sense of balance to your writing.
 Which is correct?
"It is better to give than "It is better to give than
receiving." to receive."

"Simple is beauty." "Simplicity is beauty."

 Which is correct?
"It is better to give than "It is better to give than
receiving." to receive."

"Simple is beauty." "Simplicity is beauty."

Simple is beautiful.
 To achieve parallelism, there must be the same
grammatical structure among the elements in
your sentences. Simple uses of parallelism create
readable and understandable passages.
Sentences are best understood when structured
in a grammatically parallel fashion.
See you next
time!