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Faulty Parallelism: Spotting and Correcting the Grammar Crime

Learn about parallel structure and how to identify and fix faulty parallelism in sentences. Discover examples and five common situations to watch out for. Improve your writing flow and clarity.

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Faulty Parallelism: Spotting and Correcting the Grammar Crime

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  1. Parallelism Could it be faulty?

  2. Parallel structure • The use of the same grammatical forms or structures to balance related ideas in a sentence. • When joining several equal or related ideas in a sentence, it is important that you express these ideas in a similar way. • For example, balance an adjective with an adjective, a phrase with a phrase, and a clause with a clause.

  3. Examples of parallel structure • Not parallel – He learned three things: shooting, passing, and how to dribble. (two gerunds and a phrase) • Parallel – He learned three things: shooting, passing, and dribbling. (three gerunds) • Not parallel – A good coach must learn to communicate with players, to organize a schedule, and adversity. (two phrases and a noun) • Parallel – A good coach must learn to communicate with players, to organize a schedule, and to handle adversity. (three phrases)

  4. The grammar crime • Faulty parallelism distracts the reader and disturbs the flow of the writing. When two elements of a sentence are similar in meaning, you should express them in parallel form. In other words, all linked words should match in form.

  5. Question: How do we catch faulty parallelism outlaws? • Look for comparisons and lists. Make sure all of the linked items are in the same form. For example, they should all be nouns, or phrases, gerunds, etc. . .; all should begin with matching articles, or they should all be verbs.

  6. Five situations • 1. Coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but, for, so, yet, or nor) Example: Jane wants financial independence and to find love. Corrected: Jane wants financial independence and love or Jane wants to achieve financial independence and to find love.

  7. Number Two • Correlative conjunctions • Either A or B • Neither A nor B • Both A and B • Not only A but also B • Whether A or B Example: Vasu not only broke Indian traditions but also was destroying Natara’s life. Corrected: Vasu not only broke Indian traditions but also destroyed Natara’s life.

  8. Number 3 • Word in a series Example: Throughout The Diviners, Laurence uses memory bank movies, lists, songs, and some inner films. Corrected: Omit some!

  9. Number Four • Comparisons and contrasts using than or as (more than, as much as) Example: Joan does not like Chuck Brewer as much as she seemed to like the Royal Porcupine. Corrected: Joan does not like Chuck Brewer as much as she likes the Royal Porcupine.

  10. Number Five • Function words • Prepositions (to, by, in, for) • Articles (a, an, the) • The infinitive (to) • Introductory words (that, who, which, because, when) • A function word that begins one clause must begin others. Example: Andrew believes that Jerry Bines is innocent, and Vera’s book does not characterize Jerry properly. Corrected: Andrew believes that Jerry Bines is innocent, and that Vera’s book does not characterize Jerry properly.

  11. Let us try together • His work was a mess, all mixed up, and wasn’t well planned. • At Lincoln High School, vandalism can result in suspension or even being expelled from school. • My income is smaller than my wife. • It was both a long ceremony and very tedious.

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