Grammar Workshop Series
Parallelism
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Parallelism
• Take a look at the following sentences:
1) When I am bored, I like swimming or to go for a
walk.
2) Big classes sometimes make people feel insignificant
and like they don’t exist.
3) I couldn’t get my mark raised, even though I tried
coaxing, begging, and arguments.
(Answer on next slide)
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Parallelism Questions
How do they look to you? Try saying them aloud. How do they
sound? Can you hear or see problems with them?
• If so, take a minute to think about the following questions:
a) How would you define the problems?
b) How would you fix the sentences?
• If you have an answer, feel free to head on to the next slide.
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Some possible solutions …
There are several ways in which the problems in these sentences could be
solved. For instance, we could rewrite them as follows:
1)When I am bored, I like to swim or to go for a walk.
2)Big classes sometimes make people feel like they don’t matter and like they
don’t exist.
3)I couldn’t get my mark raised, even though I tried coaxing, begging, and
arguing.
Two questions:
a)What did we change to improve the sentences?
b)Did you solve the problems the ways we did? If not, which do you like
better, your solutions or these ones?
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Parallelism Definition
• With regard to defining the problem, we can say that it
relates to parallelism. This is the principle that when
expressions (which can be words or phrases, or even
sentences) are doing the same job, or occupying the same
place in the structure surrounding them, they need to be
similar in form, both for reasons of elegance, and so that the
reader can tell where one item ends and the next one starts.
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How it works
• So if you are making up a list of activities, all the activities in
the list should have the same form, whether they are –ing
verbs, infinitives, or clauses. In other words,
1) I like running, singing and dancing.
2) I like to run, sing, and dance.
3) I like running when it is sunny, singing when my friends come
over, and dancing when it’s the weekend.
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Markers for Parallelism
• Parallelism typically involves words, phrases, and/or clauses that are put
together in lists, or in alternating or contrasting structures—so it will
typically occur in situations where words and phrases are connected with
a) “and,”
b) “or,”
c) “on the one hand … on the other hand,”
d) “neither … nor,”
e) “either … or,”
f) “not only … but,”
g) and so on.
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Examples of Parallel …
… Words:
• Parallel: “Work needs to be done accurately, neatly, and quickly.”
• Not parallel: “Work needs to be done accurately, neatly, and in a hurry.”
… Phrases:
• Parallel: “The successful candidate will be an efficient verbal
communicator or a clear writer.”
• Not parallel: “The successful candidate will be an efficient verbal
communicator or write well.”
… Clauses:
• Parallel: “The professor told us that we should study hard and that we
should take a lot of notes.
• Not parallel: “The professor told us that we should study hard and to take
a lot of notes.”
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Watch out …
1) For infinitives and gerunds—there are lots of situations where you can use
an infinitive (“I like to swim”) or a gerund (“I like swimming”), but
whichever form you choose, stick to it for all the parallel items!
2) For clauses or phrases that are mixed together with verbs or words: “The
production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and
in a detailed manner” is a problem; so is “The teacher said that he was a
poor student because he waited until the last minute to study for the
exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and his
motivation was low.” How would you solve these problems?
3) For clauses that change from active to passive: For instance how would
you fix “the salesman expected that he would present his product at the
meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation,
and that questions would be asked by prospective buyers”?
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The Magic Word: Balance
Think of parallelism as “balance,” and pretend that words that
come between parallel elements—such as “and,” “or,” and
“but”—are the balancing points. If you want to make things
balance correctly, the words on either side of the balancing
points must be “equal”—which in this case means “similar in
form and structure.”
• Unbalanced: I enjoy biking and to walk down by the pier.
• Balanced, or Parallel: I enjoy biking and walking down by the
pier.
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Introductory Markers
• Other parallelism signalers come before the parallel
elements—for instance, “not only … but also.” The material
following the first signaler must be parallel to the material
following the second. So “The hurricane not only destroyed
the fishing fleet but also the homes of the fishermen” is not
parallel, because “destroyed the fishing fleet” starts with a
verb, “destroyed,” whereas “the homes of the fishermen
starts with the article and noun. How would you fix this?
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An answer and a question
Well, since the verb applies to both the fleet and the homes,
why not put it in front of the parallel items, like so: “The
hurricane destroyed not only the fishing fleet but also the
homes of the fishermen”?
• Can you identify the problem with, and give a solution for, the
following sentence: “By dividing us into groups for some
projects, the professor ensures that either our entire group
will pass, or will fail”?
.
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Parallelism in Rhetoric
We have been talking about parallelism in terms of grammar and sentence
structure. Moving to a somewhat different level, we can say that parallelism
becomes extra powerful when we are able to link its structure with the
sentence’s sense. Parallelism is often used, for instance, to emphasis
antithesis, which is the rhetorical technique of using balanced contrasts or
opposites. So the following sentences are parallel in structure, and lean on
that parallelism in order to give a real point to their antithetical contents. The
combination of sense and structure make them extra powerful.
•
“Ambition in a man is praised; ambition in a woman is damned.“
•
“Jack Sprat could eat no fat; his wife could eat no lean.”
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Strategies for creating rhetorical parallelism
Remember: You should be pairing words or
phrases that have a similar sound.
The sound-parallel can be:
• alliterative ("similar in sound")
• determined by length and rhythmic stress
("government of the people, by the people,
and for the people”)
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Alliteration
You can also use alliteration (words that share letters)
to strengthen parallelism:
• “We were promised compassion and conservatism
but we got Katrina and wiretaps” (Barack Obama)
• “not by polls but by principle; not by calculation but
by conviction” (Barack Obama)
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More Rhetorical Parallelism
Here are another couple of examples of powerfully parallel
pronouncements (alliteration!):
• "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" (Martin
Luther King Jr.)
• “In the face of war, you believe there can be peace. In the
face of despair, you believe there can be hope. In the face of
a politics that’s shut you out, that’s told you to settle, that’s
divided us for too long, you believe we can be one people,
reaching for what’s possible, building that more perfect
union.” (Barack Obama)
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For further investigation …
• Many have drawn upon the effectiveness of parallel structures to
strengthen their messages. Abraham Lincoln, for instance, made extensive
use of it in his famous Gettysburg Address. Take a look at the speech (for
instance, here: http://www.historytools.org/sources/lincolngettysburg.pdf) and see if you can identify all the ways in which parallel
structure is used.
• Or check out Mark Antony’s speech in act 2, scene 3 of Shakespeare’s
Julius Caesar—the famous speech whose first words are a nice little bit of
parallelism: “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears”
(http://www.shakespearenavigators.com/JC_Navigator/JC_3_2.html#speech30).
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Some Examples to Conclude
• "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere" (Martin Luther King Jr.)
• “In the face of war, you believe there can
be peace. In the face of despair, you
believe there can be hope. In the face of a
politics that’s shut you out, that’s told you
to settle, that’s divided us for too long, you
believe we can be one people, reaching
for what’s possible, building that more
perfect union.” (Barack Obama)
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Parallelism Question 1
Which revision is parallel?
The firefighter, knowing that two children were trapped in the burning
building, rushed through the front door, finding the youngsters hiding
under their beds, and carried them to safety moments before the
roof collapsed.
A) rushed through the front door, finding the youngsters hiding under
their beds, and carried them
B) rushed through the front door, found the youngsters hiding under
their beds, and was carrying them
C) rushed through the front door, found the youngsters hiding under
their beds, and carried them
D) rushed through the front door, finding the youngsters hiding under
their beds, and was carrying them
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Parallelism Answer 1
Which revision is parallel?
The firefighter, knowing that two children were trapped in the burning
building, rushed through the front door, finding the youngsters hiding
under their beds, and carried them to safety moments before the
roof collapsed.
A) rushed through the front door, finding the youngsters hiding under
their beds, and carried them
B) rushed through the front door, found the youngsters hiding under
their beds, and was carrying them
C) Correct: rushed through the front door, found the youngsters
hiding under their beds, and carried them
D) rushed through the front door, finding the youngsters hiding under
their beds, and was carrying them
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Parallelism Question 2
Which is parallel?
A) Raoul's GPA is higher than Ralph.
B) Raoul's GPA is higher than Ralph's.
C) Raoul’s GPA is higher than is Ralph’s.
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Parallelism Answer 2
Which is parallel?
A) Raoul's GPA is higher than Ralph.
B) Correct: Raoul's GPA is higher than
Ralph's.
C) Raoul’s GPA is higher than is Ralph’s.
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Parallelism Question 3
A) He wanted three things out of college: to
learn a skill, to make good friends, and to
learn about life.
B) He wanted three things out of college: to
learn a skill, to make good friends, and
learning about life.
C) He wanted three things out of college: to
learn skills, to make at least one friend,
and learn about life.
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Parallelism Answer 3
A) Correct: He wanted three things out of
college: to learn a skill, to make good
friends, and to learn about life.
B) He wanted three things out of college: to
learn a skill, to make good friends, and
learning about life.
C) He wanted three things out of college: to
learn skills, to make at least one friend,
and learn about life.
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Parallelism Question 4
Choose the best option:
A) Coach Espinoza was a brilliant strategist, a
caring mentor, and a wise friend.
B) Coach Espinoza was a brilliant strategist, a
caring mentor, and friend.
C) Coach Espinoza was a brilliant strategist, was a
caring mentor, and was a friend.
D) Coach Espinoza was a wonderful strategist,
mentor and friend.
E) A or C or D
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Parallelism Question 4
Choose the best option:
A) Coach Espinoza was a brilliant strategist, a
caring mentor, and a wise friend.
B) Coach Espinoza was a brilliant strategist, a
caring mentor, and friend.
C) Coach Espinoza was a brilliant strategist, was a
caring mentor, and was a friend.
D) Coach Espinoza was a wonderful strategist,
mentor and friend.
E) Correct: A or C or D
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Parallelism Question 5:
Which is NON-Parallel?
A. Higher education is suffering from the
twin evils of bureaucracy and politics.
B. Mary is a professor of linguistics but who
teaches in an English department.
C. Syntax, morphology, and phonology are
the core areas of linguistics.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Parallelism Answer 5:
Which is NON-Parallel?
A. Higher education is suffering from the
twin evils of bureaucracy and politics.
B. Non-parallel: Mary is a professor of
linguistics but who teaches in an
English department.
C. Syntax, morphology, and phonology are
the core areas of linguistics.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Parallelism Question 6:
Which is NON-Parallel?
A. I have worked in Spain and in Ireland.
B. Yesterday, I had the new pipes and the
new air filter installed
C. Susan is smart, diligent, and a hard
worker.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Parallelism Answer 6:
Which is NON-Parallel?
A. I have worked in Spain and in Ireland.
B. Yesterday, I had the new pipes and the
new air filter installed
C. Non-parallel: Susan is smart, diligent,
and a hard worker.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Parallelism Question 7:
Which is NON-Parallel?
A. I hope to vacation either in Spain or in
Ireland.
B. I hope either to marry the woman of my
dreams or the woman of his dreams.
C. Either I will or I won't.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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Parallelism Answer 7:
Which is NON-Parallel?
A. I hope to vacation either in Spain or in
Ireland.
B. Non-parallel: I hope either to marry the
woman of my dreams or the woman of
his dreams.
C. Either I will or I won't.
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
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