GOOD

HOLY!
PARALLELISM
Objectives:
•Identify sentences that are parallel and not
parallel;

•Identify ways to create parallelism in writing;

and

•Construct sentences using parallelism.

 Parallelism
two or more phrases or clauses (or parts of speech) in a
sentence that have the same grammatical structure.

the balance between two or more similar words, phrases or

clauses is called parallelism in grammar.

parallel construction prevents awkwardness, promotes clarity

and improves writing style and readability.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A
PARALLELISM?

WEIGHT STYLE

BALANCED CLARITY

RHYTHM EMPHASIS
 VERY WEAK
BAD WRITING
WRITING

GET LOWER
POOR WRITING
GRADES
 Nancy likes playing the piano, the trumpet and play
the guitar.

 Nancy likes playing the piano, the trumpet and the

guitar.

Nancy likes the piano, the trumpet and the guitar.

2. We enjoy reading and cooking

gerund gerund
3. I like to watch movies and to travel abroad.

Infinite + noun Infinite + noun

4. The reasons for my view are political, cultural, and social.

adjectives adjectives

adjectives
5. The police acted quickly and carefully.

adverbs adverbs
6. We enjoy comedies, dramas, and documentaries.

nouns nouns

nouns
 Rules of Parallelism
Parallelism is used to balance nouns with nouns, prepositional
phrases with prepositional phrases, participles with participles,
infinitives with infinitives, gerund with gerund, clauses with
clauses.
 Rules of Parallelism
Parallelism is used with elements joined by coordinating
conjunctions. 

- My mother likes cooking and to read. (not parallel)

- My mother likes cooking and reading.(parallel)
 Rules of Parallelism
Parallelism is used with elements in lists or in a series.

- This task can be done individually, in pairs, or can be done in

groups of four. (not parallel)

- This task can be done individually, in pairs, or in groups of

four. (parallel)
 Rules of Parallelism
Parallelism is used with elements being compared. 

- She is mad about watching TV more than to read a book. (Not

parallel)

- She is mad about watching TV more than reading a book.

(Parallel)
 Rules of Parallelism
Parallelism is used with elements joined by a linking verb.

-To learn is understanding the world.(not parallel)

-To learn is to understand the world.(parallel)

Directions: Correct the faulty parallelism in each of the sentences:

1. The light bulbs are in the cabinet, on the table, or the kitchen sink.

CORRECT ANSWER:

The light bulb are in the cabinet, on the table or under the
kitchen sink.
2. She wants to speak to the manager, return the cellphone, and to get a refund.

CORRECT ANSWER:

• She wants to speak to the manager, return the cellphone, get a refund.
• She wants to speak to the manager, to return the cellphone, and to get a
refund.
. To fly will be better than driving.
3

CORRECT ANSWER:

Flying will be better than driving.

4. She wanted love, happiness, and to be secured.

CORRECT ANSWER:

She wanted love, happiness, and security.

5. The job demands professional qualifications, the ability to manage others,
and experience working around the globe.

CORRECT ANSWER:

The job demands professional qualifications,

managerial ability, and global experience.
6. Let’s start by checking your essay, and look for faulty parallelism.

CORRECT ANSWER:

Let’s start by checking your essay, and looking

for faulty parallelism.