Dave Murad
Grammar
Parallelism
Similar to how verbs and their attendant nouns should typically match in number, or pronouns and their referents should match, various sentence constructions require that items within the passage should match—or be parallel to—each other for consistency.
One common example is when listing out items:
On my days off, I enjoy biking, gaming, and guitar.
Notice that biking and gaming are both verbs in the gerund form (serving as nouns). Although guitar is a noun, it is not a verb in a gerund form. Thus, we should revise to make all items in that list parallel.
On my days off, I enjoy biking, gaming, and playing the guitar.
Many parallelism issues involve losing track of how the preposition applies. For instance, one should not say:
The defendant was on trial for robbery and lied under oath.
The items needing to be parallel in that sentence follow the preposition for: The defendant was on trial for robbery; the defendant was on trial for lying under oath. Thus:
The defendant was on trial for robbery and lying under oath.
To rather keep the “lied under oath” sentence construction, the rest of the sentence would need to be revised. One option is to match or parallel the verb tenses.
The defendant was on trial because they allegedly committed robbery and lied under oath.
The sentence has been made parallel through matching past-tense verbs that both apply to why the defendant is on trial: because they allegedly committed robbery… because they allegedly lied… because they allegedly [fill-in past-tense verb].
Parallelism is not just about the grammatical logic of the paragraph (important as that is) but about style. Many common phrases become popular precisely because they have parallel structures (parallel parts bolded):
Her words go in one ear, out the other. vs Her words go in one ear, leaving the other.
A penny saved is a penny earned. vs A penny saved is pennies accumulating.
Eat, drink, and be merry. vs Eat, drinking, and being merry.
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. vs One small step for man, and mankind makes giant leaps.
Parallelism Exercises
Revise the following to make the sentence or passages parallel.
When Jake turned 19, he was living with his parents and went to college every day.
1
When Jake turned 19, he was *living* with his parents and *going* to college every day.
He didn’t have enough money to move out, buy a car of his own, or even for insurance.
2
He didn’t have enough money to *move out*, *buy* a car of his own, or even *pay* for insurance.
The money he earned was from his part-time job or when doing paid errands for folks in the neighborhood.
3
The money he earned was *from his part-time job* or *paid errands* for folks in the neighborhood.
His parents would also pay him to mow their lawn, walking their dogs, and for cleaning.
4
His parents would also pay him *for mowing their lawn*, *walking their dogs*, and *cleaning their house*.
After a few years, though, through earning and saved what he could, Jake finally had the means and was able to move out.
5
After a few years, though, through *earning* and *saving* what he could, Jake finally had *the means* and *ability* to move out.