Exercises on Parallel

structure
Think you understand parallelism?
1. Which of the following paired sentences are parallel?

She likes to listen to music and reading the latest novels.

She likes listening to music and reading the latest novels.

He spent his time studying Spanish, working at the convenience store, and jogging every
afternoon.
He spent his time studying Spanish. working at the convenience store, and he jogged every
afternoon.

The dog was excited: running, barking, and he chased after the boys.
The dog was excited: running, barking, and chasing after the boys.

The apartment was filled with old newspapers, broken bottles, and the ashtrays were
overflowing.
The apartment was filled with old newspapers, broken bottles, and overflowing ashtrays.

2. Make the following sentences parallel. Enter the correct version of the item in the series which does not match
the others

Mary wanted to paint her office, to add some new draperies, and the carpet need cleaning.

When Friday rolls around, do you go to the mall, head for a bar, or are you going to work?

Last year, my brother dropped out of school, was looking for work, and needed a place to stay.

He watched the latest version of King Lear, studied for his math test, and was talking on the phone.

So how was it? Use your incorrect responses to guide you through another review.
Return

Sentences - Parallel Structures Words in a pair or in a series should have a parallel

structure. By balancing the items in a pair or a series so that they have the same
kind of structure, you will make the sentence clearer and easier to read. not
balanced: Wild Bill enjoys hunting for rabbits, socializing with friends, and to read
the funnies. balanced: Wild Bill enjoys hunting for rabbits, socializing with friends,
and reading the funnies. not balanced: Miss America contestants must be religious,
talented, and show patriotism. balanced: Miss America contestants must be
religious, talented and patriotic. not balanced: Julie likes to wear soft sweaters, to
eat exotic foods, and bathing in bath oil. balanced: Julie likes to wear soft sweaters,
to eat exotic foods, and to bathe in bath oil. Exercise 1 The unbalanced part of each
sentence below is in bold print. Rewrite the unbalanced parts so that it matches the
rest of the sentence. 1. Mrs. Grencher likes to water her garden, walking her fox
terrier, and to yell at her husband.
________________________________________________________________
2. That afternoon she changed two diapers, did the ironing of two shirts, and
watched two soap operas.
________________________________________________________________
3. The bacon was fatty, grease was on the potatoes, and the eggs were cold.
________________________________________________________________

4. Lola plans to become a model, lawyer, or to go into nursing.

________________________________________________________________
5. When I saw my roommate with my girl friend, I felt worried, angry, and
embarrassment as well.
________________________________________________________________
When two or more elements in a sentence have the same function, they should
have the same form. That is, they should be parallel.
not balanced: Kayaking requires strength, courage and the paddler must be
experienced. balanced: Kayaking requires strength, courage, and experience.
Exercise 2 Rewrite the following sentences, correcting the faulty parallelism.
1. Jackson promised to be more careful, and that he would work more slowly.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
2. No one enjoyed the haying, the milking, or to plow except Bill.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3. Mark is not only talented as a pianist but also at acting.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
4. Id rather go skiing than to sightsee.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
5. Eloise is easygoing, soft-spoken, and has patience.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
6. To sing with a rock group and making lots of money was her big dream.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
7. Steven will either enlist in the armed forces or learning computer programming.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
8. These melons are ripe, juicy and have a sweet taste.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

9. The ranger warned us to dress warmly and that we should keep dry.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
10. Making a decision and to stick to it was something Bob couldnt do.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ Shifts in pronoun
reference often result in faulty parallelism. faulty: If one wants an application, you
should ask the principal. correct: If one wants an application, one should ask the
principal. If you want an application, you should ask the principal. Shift in voice may
also result in faulty parallelism. faulty: As the hikers rounded a curve, a peaceful
valley was seen far below. correct: As the hikers rounded a curve, they saw a
peaceful valley far below. The hikers rounded a curve and saw a peaceful valley far
below. Exercise 3 Rewrite the following sentences to eliminate needless shifts in
person and voice. 1. If one speaks Spanish, you should be able to understand
Italian. ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 2. Although Al tried
to get to the stadium on time, the kickoff was missed.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 3. When you see an
opportunity, one should take advantage of it.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 4. The cyclists
reached the river, and then the bridge was crossed.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 5. Because Judy
stopped for a newspaper, her train was missed.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 6. If you want to be
taken seriously, one should think before one speaks.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 7. Jo jumped when
the door slammed, and the tray of dishes was dropped.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 8. When we visited
the auto plant, a great deal about assembly-line techniques was learned.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 9. Rosita kept the
best items for her collection, and the others were sold by her.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 10. If one wants a
quick refund, you should file your tax return early.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ Shift in verb tense

often results in faulty parallelism. faulty: When the game ended, the fans rushed
onto the field. parallel: When the game ended, the fans rushed onto the field.
Exercise 4 Rewrite the following sentence to eliminate shifts in tense. 1. Bernard
prepared the sauce for the pasta and put the bread in the oven.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 2. Emily always
wants to stay up for the late show but always fell asleep watching it.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 3. His breakfast
never varies; it consisted of yogurt and prune juice.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________4. Billy Joe didnt like
the tacos but eats them anyway.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 5. The horse reared
in the starting gate and throws his rider.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ Further Practice In
writing, parallel means similar, having close resemblance. When two or more ideas
in a sentence are alike in purpose, they should be expressed in the same
grammatical form: words: Gene is big, but graceful. Midge wants to hop, skip and
jump. His manner is high, wide and handsome. phrases: At work and at play, Lisa
always pushed herself hard. Over the river and through the woods, to
Grandmothers house we go. clauses: My spirits rose when I arrived in Puerto Rico,
and when I saw my roommate in the airport lobby. I cannot drive in the province
until I am seventeen, and until I pass my drivers test. Sentence elements that are
coordinate in rank should be parallel in structure, i.e., a prepositional phrase should
be coordinated with a prepositional phrase, an infinitive phrase with an infinitive
phrase and so on. not parallel: This book is out of stock and not being printed.
Parallel: This book is out of stock and out of print. Sentence elements following
correlative conjunctions should be parallel in form. The four common pairs of
correlative conjunction are both ... and, either ... or, neither ... nor, not only ... but
also. Each part of the pair should be followed immediately by the same grammatical
form, two similar words, two similar phrases, or two similar clauses. not parallel: You
can either take the high road or the low road. parallel: You can take either the high
road or the low road. not parallel: She not only is quite rich but also quite stingy.
parallel: She is not only quite rich, but also quite stingy. Exercise 5 Rewrite the
following sentences, making the coordinate elements parallel in form. 1. Not only
was she noisy and rude but also rather stupid.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 2. Andre didnt like
Liberals and especially to have one in the family.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 3. I spend too much

time both playing bridge and in talking.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 4. Jay is a man
whom people respect but is not very approachable.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 5. At about noon
every day the siren blows and warning the residents of another big blast at the
quarry. ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 6. The constant
nibbling away of the rats and to hear them running across the foot of the bed
undermined Craigs confidence.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 7. Later that year,
having lost his job and unable to find another, he had to sell his car.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 8. My Uncle Julian
wrote his autobiography which was uninteresting because nothing had ever
happened to him. ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 9. Students too
often come to class with pencil and paper, carrying notebooks and texts, and a
torpid mind. ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ 10. The admiral was
told he was either a liar or he was a fool.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________ Answer Key
Exercise 1 1. Mrs. Grencher likes to water her garden, to walk her fox terrier, and to
yell at her husband. 2. That afternoon she changed two diapers, ironed two shirts,
and watched two soap operas. 3. The bacon was fatty, the potatoes were greasy,
and the eggs were cold. 4. Lola plans to become a model, a lawyer, or a nurse. 5.
When I saw my roommate with my girl friend, I felt worried, angry and embarrassed
as well. Exercise 2 1. Jackson promised to be more careful, and to work more slowly.
2. No one enjoyed the haying, the milking, or the plowing except Bill. 3. Mark is not
only talented as a pianist, but also as an actor. 4. Id rather go skiing than
sightseeing. 5. Eloise is easygoing, soft-spoken, and patient. 6. To sing with a rock
group, and to make lots of money was her big dream. 7. Steven will either enlist in
the armed forces or learn computer programming. 8. These melons are ripe, juicy
and sweet. 9. The ranger warned us to dress warmly and to keep dry. 10. Making a
decision and sticking to it was something Bob couldnt do. Exercise 3 1. If one
speaks Spanish, one should be able to understand Italian. 2. Although Al tried to get
to the stadium on time, he missed the kickoff.3. When you see an opportunity, you
should take advantage of it. 4. The cyclists reached the river, and then they crossed
the bridge. 5. Because Judy stopped for a newspaper, she missed her train. 6. If you
want to be taken seriously, you should think before you speak. 7. Jo jumped when
the door slammed, and she dropped the tray of dishes. 8. When we visited the auto

plant, we learned a great deal about assembly-line techniques. 9. Rosita kept the
best items for her collection, and she sold the others. 10. If one wants a quick
refund, one should file ones tax return early. Exercise 4 1. Bernard prepared the
sauce for the pasta and put the bread in the oven. 2. Emily always wants to stay up
for the late show, but always falls asleep watching it. 3. His breakfast never varies;
it consists of yogurt and prune juice. 4. Billy Joe didnt like the tacos, but he ate
them anyway. 5. The horse reared in the starting gate, and threw the rider. Exercise
5 1. She was not only noisy and rude, but also rather stupid. 2. Andre didnt like
Liberals, and he especially didnt like them in the family. 3. I spend too much time
playing bridge and participating in bull sessions. 4. Jay is a man whom people
respect, but he is not very approachable. 5. At about noon every day the siren blows
and warns the residents of another big blast at the quarry. 6. Hearing the rats
nibbling constantly and running across the foot of the bed undermined Craigs
confidence. 7. Later that year, having lost his job and being unable to find another,
he had to sell his car.8. My Uncle Julian wrote his autobiography, which was
uninteresting because nothing has ever happened to him. 9. Students too often
come to class with pencil and paper, notebooks and texts, and torpid minds. 10. The
Admiral was told he was either a liar or a fool. Bibliography Langan, John, English
Skills, McGraw-Hill Book Comp