1. Parallelism: Correlative Pairs
Writing Lab
Parallelism: Correlative Pairs

2. Parallelism: Correlative Pairs
Items in a series should be balanced or coordinated; that is, to indicate the same rank and role of items in a series or to indicate equality of these ideas, writers of standard written English must employ parallel grammatical constructions. In order to ensure that these are grammatically similar, the writer conveys his or her message in parallel language. Some writers make a construction appear to be parallel when actually it is not by incorrectly mixing the parts of correlative pairs.

3. Frequently Used Correlative Conjunctions
Both… and
Either… or
Just as… so
Neither… nor
Not only… but also
Whether… or

4. Correlative pair is neither… nor.
Incorrect: I readily admitted that I had neither interest or need for this seminar Correct: I readily admitted that I had neither interest nor need for this seminar.

5. Correlative pair is not only… but also.
Incorrect: The Beatles were talented not only as performers but as composers. Correct: The Beatles were talented not only as composers but also as composers.

6. That’s all, folks!
This lesson is part of the UWF Writing Lab Grammar Mini-Lesson Series
Lessons adapted from Real Good Grammar, Too by Mamie Webb Hixon
To find out more, visit the Writing Lab’s website where you can take a self-scoring quiz corresponding to this lesson