Balancing Sentence Parts

Exercise 1: Identifying Signal Words and Parallel Elements

Underline the parallel elements—words, phrases, or clauses—and circle the signal words in the
following sentences. The words and phrases within parentheses are movie titles.

1. An old granny tells tales of wolves and children of the night. (The Company of

Wolves)

2. Several convicts from another planet escape and fly to the planet Earth. (Critters)

3. Krite eggs hatch bloodthirsty babies and the babies continue the family tradition.

(Critters 2)

4. Four people become trapped in a shopping mall with walking flesh-eaters and a gang

of motorcyclists. (Dawn of the Dead)

5. A mad scientist dreams of creating life and using his ingenious talents. (Frankenstein)

6. He succeeds in producing a monster with the brain of a fiend, the emotions of a

child, and the body of a giant.

7. Combining fact, fiction, and horror, this film is an imaginative tale of fear. (Gothic)

8. A man flees a disturbed past while being pursued by a lawman, a psychopathic killer,

and the woman who still loves him. (Night Breed)

9. A man wants money he didn’t earn, a sightless woman wants to see, and a man’s

past catches up with him. (Night Gallery)

10. Norman Bates attempts to put his life together and to put his old habits behind him.

(Psycho III)