= balance of a series of words, phrases or clauses Parellelism = balance of a series of words, phrases or clauses

What is parallel structure? Words in a series should be the same part of speech

Examples The town was small, quiet and peaceful Small/quiet/peaceful = adjectives Ophelia enjoys taking minutes and transcribing them. Taking minutes/transcribing them = gerund phrases Ophelia likes to take minutes and to transcribe them. To take minutes/to transcribe them = infinitive phrases History will be kind to me; for I intend to write it. Both are independent clauses

Lists After a Colon Be sure to keep all the elements in a list in the same form. Not Parallel: The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs. Parallel: The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and irregular verbs.

Phrases must be parallel Phrases in a series should be the same kind of phrase What is a phrase? A phrase is a group of related words without a Subject and a Verb. Examples: The sun rises in the east. (prepositional) He plans to eat. (infinitive)

Practice Unparallel The sun rises in the east and sets westernly. The suns rises in the east and sets in the west. He plans to eat and on sleeping. He plans to eat and sleep. [to is understood before sleep]

More Practice A verb phrase consists of various combinations of the main verb and any auxiliary verbs, plus optional parts of speech Examples Yankee batters hit the ball, ran the bases and scoring the runs. Yankee batters hit the ball, ran the bases and scored the runs. Mary saw the man through the window, was screaming for her husband and ran outside. Mary saw the man through the window, screamed for her husband and ran outside. An noun phrase consists of a main noun or pronoun and is sometimes accompanied by a set of modifiers. We took the ball that was red, the green bag and the black tent on our camping trip. We took the red ball, the green bag and the black tent on our camping trip.

Clauses versus Phrases Clauses have at least a subject and a verb; phrases do not contain subjects or verbs Main clauses can stand alone; dependent clauses and phrases can never stand alone

Clauses in a series should be parallel Not Parallel: One clerk polished the antique spoons; they were placed into the display case by the other clerk. Parallel: One clerk polished the antique spoons; the other clerk placed them into the display case. Not Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and to do some warm-up exercises before the game. Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game. Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, not eat too much, and do some warm-up exercises before the game.

Practice Rewrite the following to make them parallel. My favourite armchair is lumpy, worn out and has dirty spots everywhere. She enjoys reading, studying the flute and also sews her own clothes. I would prefer to fix an old car than watching television. She was great at swimming, canoeing and as a rock climber. She is charming and has beauty. As I looked down the city street, I could see the soft lights from the restaurant windows, I could hear the mellow sounds of nightclub bands and carefree moods of people walking by.

Check your answers My favourite armchair is lumpy, worn out and covered with dirty spots. She enjoys reading, studying the flute and also sewing her own clothes. I would prefer to fix an old car than to watch television. OR I would prefer fixing an old car than watching television. She was great at swimming, canoeing and as a rock climbing. She is charming and beautiful. As I looked down the city street, I could see the soft lights from the restaurant windows, I could hear the mellow sounds of nightclub bands and I could sense the carefree moods of people walking by.

Resources and Assignments http://wps.pearsoned.ca/ca_mbcl_bovee_buscom_ 2 - Grammar and Usage Exercise Zone Basic Grammar Parallel Structure – all exercises Due by last class in September