Faulty Parallelism

Parallelism John can swim, hunt, and jump.

A pair or a She sorted the book neatly and

series of related efficiently.
words or
phrases

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When using parallelism, it's important that
the words in the pair or the list have the
same form

• Charles packed his pencils, pens, and

notebooks in his backpack.

• Terrance went hiking, swimming, and

zip-lining on his camping trip.

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▪ Words or phrases using parallelism should be related
or similar, but they should not overlap or intersect.

eg., She likes cooking, jogging and to read.

She likes cooking, jogging and reading.

She likes to cook, jog and read.

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 Faulty
parallelism
occurs when
the items in the
series of a
sentence do not
have the same
grammatical
structure.
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My favorite hobbies are drawing, playing
baseball, and to watch television.

"to watch television" is not the same structure as

"drawing" and "playing.

My favorite hobbies are drawing, playing

baseball, and watching television.

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 ❖ Lists of words that do not match

The performing arts school will teach students

singing, acting, and how to dance.

Correct Sentence: The performing arts school will

teach students singing, acting, and dancing.

Correct sentence: The performing arts school will

teach students how to sing, act, and dance.

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 ❖ Uncoordinated Conjunctions

I plan on buying a house and to purchase a new car.

Correct sentence:

I plan to buy a house and to purchase a new car. Or

I plan on buying a house and purchasing a new car.

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Emma’s research highlights the importance of cell
membrane and helps in improving drug uptake in the
cell.

Correct sentence: Emma’s research highlights the

importance of cell membrane and improves drug
uptake in the cell.

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 ❖ Conjunctions that do not correlate

You can get to Lake Cynthia

either by train or go by
bus .

You can get to Lake Cynthia

either by train or by bus.

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❖ Comparisons/Contrasts misusing “Than” or “As”

Sally felt that preparing sushi was easier than to grill

steak.

Correct sentence: Sally felt that preparing sushi was

easier than grilling steak.Or

Sally felt that it was easier to prepare sushi than to

grill steak.
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The interest at a loan company is higher than a bank.

Correct sentence: The interest at a loan company is

higher than a bank's.

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 ❖ Mismatching Function Words

Some readers believe that Tolstoy is too verbose of a

writer and his book War and Peace is not a great
masterpiece.

Correct sentence: Some readers believe that Tolstoy is

too verbose of a writer and that his book War and
Peace is not a great masterpiece.

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I enjoy football, volleyball
and playing soccer.

I enjoy football, volleyball

and soccer. or
I enjoy playing football,
volleyball and soccer.

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I like to spend my winter holiday skating, skiing,
and I also enjoy snowboarding.

I like to spend my winter holiday skating, skiing and

snowboarding.

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Tourists enjoy viewing air shows on military bases
and to examine displays of armor in museums.

Tourists enjoy viewing air shows on military bases

and examining displays of armor in museums.

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After our trek, we felt grimy, tired, and wanted
something to eat.

After our trek, we felt grimy, tired, and hungry.

(adjective + adjective)

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Neither wringing your hands nor if you pull
your hair will solve the problem.

Neither wringing your hands nor pulling your

hair will solve the problem.

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I still enjoy playing in the leaves, skipping down the
driveway, and to run against the wind.

I still enjoy playing in the

leaves, skipping down the
driveway, and running against
the wind.

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She found herself out of love, with no money,
and having no luck.

She found herself out of love, out of funds, and

out of luck. (prepositional phrase +
prepositional phrase)

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I have observed that a child’s perceptions of the
world are sometimes more astute than an
adult.

I have observed that a child’s perceptions of the

world are sometimes more astute than an adult’s.

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The trip to the city
is neither long
nor expensive.

The trip to the city

is neither a long one
nor expensive.

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In counseling, I think both talking and to
listen are important.

In counseling, I think both talking and

listening are important.

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We are not for war but peace.

We are not for war but for peace.

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The economist not only broke the code of honor but
also was imparting false information to the
committee.

Correct sentence: The economist not only broke the

code of honor but also imparted false information to
the committee.

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The new president plans to flatten the administration
hierarchy, reduce middle management, and to
combine Media Services with Marketing.

The new president plans to flatten the administration

hierarchy, to reduce middle management, and to
combine Media Services with Marketing.

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