Parallel Structure

Parallel
Structure
Lesson & Exercises

Parallel structure is used to indicate that multiple items in a sentence are equally important. In any list, each item
should appear in the same format: noun, noun, and noun; verb, verb, and verb; or gerund, gerund, and gerund.

List with nouns

Incorrect: Changes in wind circulation patterns, runoff from sewage, and using chemical
fertilizers can lead to the creation of ocean waters that are inhospitable to marine life.

Correct: Changes in wind circulation patterns, runoff from sewage, and use of chemical
fertilizers can lead to the creation of ocean waters that are inhospitable to marine life.

List with verbs

Incorrect: In their works, Impressionist painters emphasized the interplay of light and dark,
used rapid brushstrokes, and conveying a sense of immediacy.

Correct: In their works, Impressionist painters emphasized the interplay of light and dark,
used rapid brushstrokes, and conveyed a sense of immediacy.

List with gerunds

Incorrect: Because they have a highly developed sense of vision, most lizards communicate by
gesturing with their limbs, changing their colors, or to display their athletic abilities.

Correct: Because they have a highly developed sense of vision, most lizards communicate by
gesturing with their limbs, changing their colors, or displaying their athletic abilities.

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1 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
Exercise: “List” Parallel Structure
For the following sentences, make the items in each list parallel in structure.

1. Lady Jane Grey, known as the nine-day queen, was renowned for her sweetness, her beauty, and being
subjected to the whims of her mother.

2. Mediterranean cooking is best known for its reliance on fresh produce, whole grains, and it uses significant
amounts of olive oil as well.

3. The biggest beneficiaries of the Grateful Dead archive may prove to be business scholars who are discovering
that the Dead were visionaries in the way they created customer value, promoted networking, and how they
implemented strategic business planning.

4. The term “single family house” describes how a house is built and who is intended to live in it, but it does not
indicate the house's size, shape, or where it is located.

5. Seeing the Grand Canyon, standing in front of a beautiful piece of art, and to listen to a beautiful symphony
are all experiences that may inspire awe.

6. Neighbors of the proposed park argue that an amphitheater would draw more traffic, disrupt their
neighborhood, and their only patch of open space would diminish.

7. Evidence suggests that the aging brain retains and even increases its capacity for resilience, growth, and
having a sense of well-being.

8. Antiques are typically objects that show some degree of craftsmanship or attention to design, and they are
considered desirable because of their beauty, rarity, or being useful.

9. Spiders use a wide range of strategies to capture prey, including trapping it in sticky webs, lassoing it with
sticky bolas, and to mimic other insects in order to avoid detection.

10. According to medical authorities at the Mayo Clinic, building muscle can boost metabolism, aiding in weight
loss, and increase stamina and focus.

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2 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
 Two-Part Parallel Structure
When only two items are present, the construction on one side of a conjunction or comparison must match the
construction on the other side of the conjunction as closely as possible.

Most often, the conjunction used to separate parallel items will be or, and or but; however, any transition or word
pair can be used to signal that a parallel construction is necessary. Some common examples include the following:

• Yet
• (N)either…(n)or
• Not only…but also
• Both…and

For example:

Incorrect: More than simply providing badly needed space in cramped cities, skyscrapers
connect people and fostering creativity.

Incorrect: More than simply providing badly needed space in cramped cities, skyscrapers
connect people and creativity is fostered in them.

The presence of the conjunction and indicates that the constructions on either side of it must match.

Correct: More than simply providing badly needed space in cramped cities, skyscrapers
connect people and foster creativity.

In some cases, parallel structure can involve longer phrases.

Incorrect: The researchers called for the enforcement of existing cigarette-sale regulations
as well as investigating teenagers’ motivations for smoking.

In the above sentence, the construction on either side of the conjunction as well as must be the same. So next, we
want to look at the specific construction of those two pieces of information.

What did the researchers call for?

1) enforcement of existing cigarette-sale regulations

2) investigating teenagers’ motivations for smoking

When we examine the two sides, we see that their constructions do not match.

• The first side contains noun + of + noun (enforcement of… regulations).

• The second side contains gerund + noun (investigating…motivations).

To make the two sides parallel, we must replace the gerund investigating with its noun form, investigation, and add
the preposition of.

Correct: The researchers called for the enforcement of existing cigarette-sale regulations as
well as an investigation of teenagers’ motivations for smoking.

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 Parallel Structure with Adjectives
In some cases, a single verb can “apply” to two adjectives, making it unnecessary to include the verb a second time.

Correct: After waiting more than an hour for the candidate to make his scheduled appearance,
the voters grew impatient and the reporters irritated.

In the above sentence, the verb grew applies to the second adjective, irritated, as well as the first, impatient. Most
people’s inclination, however, would be to rewrite the sentence as follows:

Correct: After waiting more than an hour for the candidate to make his scheduled appearance, the voters
grew impatient and the reporters grew irritated.

While this version of the sentence is correct, it is not inherently more correct than the first version.

Parallel Structure with Prepositions

Often, each half of the word pair will be followed by a preposition. When this is the case, the same preposition
should be used both times.

Incorrect: As one of the greatest American dancers and choreographers of the twentieth century,
Martha Graham was praised not only for the brilliance of her technique but also in
the vividness and intensity of her movements.

The verb praised applies to the two items that follow: (1) the brilliance of her technique, (2) the vividness and intensity of
her movements. The correct expression is praised for, so the preposition for should appear before the second item.

Correct: As one of the greatest American dancers and choreographers of the twentieth century,
Martha Graham was praised not only for the brilliance of her technique but also for
the vividness and intensity of her movements.

When doing so does not result in confusion or disrupt the flow of a sentence, it is also acceptable to omit the
preposition in the second item.

Correct: As one of the greatest American dancers and choreographers of the twentieth
century, Martha Graham was praised both for the brilliance of her technique and
(no preposition) the vividness and intensity of her movements.

In the above sentence, the preposition for then automatically “applies” to the nouns on both sides of the word pair
(the brilliance, the vividness and intensity).

When a sentence involves two verbs that require different prepositions, however, the appropriate preposition must
follow each verb. A preposition cannot “apply” to a verb that it does not idiomatically follow.

Incorrect: In general, car dealers have shown little interest or enthusiasm for electric cars,
despite widespread popular support for these vehicles.

Correct: In general, car dealers have shown little interest in or enthusiasm for electric cars,
despite widespread popular support for these vehicles.

Because it is incorrect to say interest for, the preposition in must be added after interest.

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 Multiple Sentences
In some cases, you may also find it useful to employ a parallel construction across multiple sentences, as a tool for
creating suspense or emphasis. Note that this type of writing is much more common in journalism than it is in
academic writing.

Not parallel: An actor stands on the stage and delivers a monologue as an audience hangs onto his
every word. A singer performs a ballad as listeners fall silent. As a group of
spectators watch in awe, a dance troupe glides across the stage.

Because the first two sentences begin with a noun + verb…as, the third sentence should begin that way as well.

Parallel: An actor stands on the stage and delivers a monologue as an audience hangs onto his
every word. A singer performs a ballad as listeners fall silent. A dance troupe glides
across the stage as a group of spectators watch in awe.

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5 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
Exercise: Two-Part Parallel Structure
In the following sentences, identify the conjunction or comparison indicating that parallel structure is required,
and rewrite the relevant portion of the sentence to include a parallel construction.

1. Hans Holbein was one of the most exquisite draftsmen of all time, renowned for the precise rendering of his
drawings and his portraits were compellingly realistic.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. The figure skater was praised not only for her mastery of difficult technical skills, but also her performance
was elegant and graceful.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. While the novel has many detractors, it also has many admirers who argue that its popularity is based on its
gripping storyline and its characters’ motives are believable.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Known for her musical compositions as well as for her poems and letters, Hildegard of Bingen was just as
renowned in the twelfth century as the twentieth.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. The university is installing a more detailed course-evaluation system so that students can decide whether they
should register for certain classes or should they avoid them altogether.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. For fans of the legendary food writer Charles H. Baker, the contents of a dish are less compelling than what
the story is behind it.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. During the sixteenth century, an outbreak of fighting in Europe led to the invention of new weapons and to
old weapons growing and evolving.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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6 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
8. In contemporary education, there is a disturbing contrast between the enormous popularity of certain
approaches but credible evidence for their effectiveness is lacking.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. The development of identity was one of psychologist Erik Erikson's greatest concerns, both in his own life and
his theory.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. At its peak, the Roman army was nearly unconquerable because of the hard and effective training of its
commanders as well as its troops being exceptionally well-organized.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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7 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
Answers: “List” Parallel Structure

1. Lady Jane Grey, known as the nine-day queen, was renowned for her sweetness, her beauty, and her
subjection to the whims of her mother.

2. Mediterranean cooking is best known for its reliance on fresh produce, whole grains, and significant
amounts of olive oil.

3. The biggest beneficiaries of the Grateful Dead archive may prove to be business scholars who are discovering
that the Dead were visionaries in the way they created customer value, promoted networking, and how they
implemented strategic business planning.

4. The term “single family house” describes how a house is built and who is intended to live in it, but it does not
indicate the house's size, shape, or location.

5. Seeing the Grand Canyon, standing in front of a beautiful piece of art, and listening to a beautiful symphony
are all experiences that may inspire awe.

6. Neighbors of the proposed park argue that an amphitheater would draw more traffic, disrupt their
neighborhood, and diminish their only patch of open space.

7. Evidence suggests that the aging brain retains and even increases its capacity for resilience, growth, and sense
of well-being.

8. Antiques are typically objects that show some degree of craftsmanship or attention to design, and they are
considered desirable because of their beauty, rarity, or usefulness.

9. Spiders use a wide range of strategies to capture prey, including trapping it in sticky webs, lassoing it with
sticky bolas, and mimicking other insects in order to avoid detection.

10. According to medical authorities at the Mayo Clinic, building muscle can boost metabolism, aid in weight
loss, and increase stamina and focus.

____________________________________________
8 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
Answers: Two-Part Parallel Structure

1. Hans Holbein was one of the most exquisite draftsmen of all time, renowned for the precise rendering of his
drawings and the compelling realism of his portraits.

2. The figure skater was praised not only for her mastery of difficult technical skills, but also the elegance and
grace of her performance.

3. While the novel has many detractors, it also has many admirers who argue that its popularity is based on its
gripping storyline and the believability of its characters’ motives.

4. Known for her musical compositions as well as for her poems and letters, Hildegard of Bingen was just as
renowned in the twelfth century as in the twentieth.

5. The university is installing a more detailed course-evaluation system so that students can decide whether they
should register for certain classes or avoid them altogether.

6. For fans of the legendary food writer Charles H. Baker, the contents of a dish are less compelling than the
story behind it.

7. During the sixteenth century, an outbreak of fighting in Europe led to the invention of new weapons and to
the growth and evolution of old ones.

8. In contemporary education, there is a disturbing contrast between the enormous popularity of certain
approaches and the lack of credible evidence for their effectiveness.

9. The development of identity was one of psychologist Erik Erikson's greatest concerns, both in his own life and
in his theory.

10. At its peak, the Roman army was nearly unconquerable because of the hard and effective training of its
commanders as well as the exceptional organization of its troops.

____________________________________________
9 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com