Parallelism refers to the use of identical grammatical
structures for related words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence or a paragraph.
Parallelism can make your writing clear and effective. It helps to link related
ideas and to emphasize the relationships between them.
Parallel construction shows that two or more ideas are
equally important by stating them in grammatically parallel form: noun lined up
with noun, verb with verb, and phrase with phrase. Parallelism can lend
clarity, elegance, and symmetry to what you say:
I came; I saw; I
conquered. —Julius Caesar
Parallelism ensures that similar clauses or phrases are
uniform in expression and function. To achieve parallelism, you must use the
same verb, noun, adverb, or adjective forms consistently throughout a sentence
Consider the following examples:
Paul likes to dance,
swimming, and run
Paul likes to dance,
swim, and run.
Paul likes dancing,
swimming, and running.
Rules
Lists or Series
All lists of things, qualities, or actions should take the
same grammatical form.
Faulty: e.g.,
Cassandra loves reading the newspaper, taking long walks, and to dance the
tango.
Parallel: Cassandra
loves reading the newspaper, taking long walks, and dancing the tango.
Faulty: e.g., For
opera to take root in Great Britain, infrastructure was required: the building
of financial support, the training of singers, and the education of audiences.
Parallel: For opera to
take root in Great Britain, three things were required: building financial
support, training singers, and educating audiences.
Parallel: For opera to
take root in Great Britain, it was necessary to build financial support, train
singers, and educate audiences.
Nouns Joined by
Coordinating Conjunctions
Faulty: e.g., Among many cultures, rites of passage can involve feats of courage and sometimes even doing dangerous things.
The addition of the verb doing before the second noun disrupts the balance of the sentence.
Parallel: Among many
cultures, rites of passage can involve feats of courage and sometimes even
dangerous things.
Phrases Joined by Correlative
Conjunctions
(either...or, neither...nor, both...and, not only...but also, whether...or, etc.)
(either...or, neither...nor, both...and, not only...but also, whether...or, etc.)
Faulty: e.g., Idrees
is not only fluent in Urdu but also in English.
Parallel: e.g., Idrees
is fluent not only in Urdu but also in English.
Since both nouns are modified by a single adjective
(fluent), the adjective should be placed before the first correlative
conjunction (not only). Where each correlative conjunction has its own verb,
the correlative conjunction comes before the verb:
Faulty: e.g., Idrees
speaks not only two languages fluently but also plays cricket very well.
Parallel: e.g., Idrees
not only speaks two languages fluently but also plays cricket very well.
Sentences that
Explain Chronological Events
Sentences must use verb tenses that are consistent and
reflect the chronological order of events.
Faulty: e.g., Kevin
stopped asking for directions and starts using a map.
Parallel: e.g., Kevin
stopped asking for directions and started using a map.
Because this sentence describes an event that happened in
the past, both verbs need to be in the past tense.
Using Parallelism to
Remove Repetition
Repetitive words can often be removed from a sentence if their removal does not detract from your clarity.
Repetitive words can often be removed from a sentence if their removal does not detract from your clarity.
Faulty: e.g., Alan
picked up his computer. Alan picked up his books. Alan picked up his phone.
Parallel: e.g., Alan
picked up his computer, books, and phone.
Using Parallelism for
Clarity
Faulty: e.g., Sandra
is interested in Canadian art and poetry.
In this example, we’re not sure if Sandra is interested in
Canadian poetry specifically or poetry in general. To ensure your meaning is
clear, repeat ‘Canadian’ and retain parallelism.
Parallel: e.g., Sandra
is interested in Canadian art and Canadian poetry.