Parallelism

Parallelism is the use of consistent grammatical structures within sentences or lists. Maintaining parallel structure improves readability, rhythm, and clarity.

Definition / Explanation

Parallelism (also called parallel structure) occurs when words, phrases, or clauses are written in the same grammatical form to create balance and clarity in writing.

Rules / Guidelines

• Use the same form for items in a list: I like swimming, running, and biking.
• Maintain parallelism with correlative conjunctions (either…or, neither…nor, both…and): She will either go to the store or stay home.
• Maintain parallel structure in comparisons: He is smarter than she is patient. → Corrected: He is smarter than she is patient.
• Maintain verb tense consistency in sentences with multiple verbs.

Examples

Incorrect: She likes reading, to swim, and jogging.
Correct: She likes reading, swimming, and jogging.
Incorrect: He wanted to run, jump, and was swimming.
Correct: He wanted to run, jump, and swim.
Incorrect: The manager said the project is important, urgent, and it must be completed quickly.
Correct: The manager said the project is important, urgent, and time-sensitive.

Practice Exercises

1. Correct the sentence: She enjoys singing, to dance, and painting.
2. Correct the sentence: He likes to read, writing, and biking.
3. Correct the sentence: We need to study, to revise, and we must practice.
4. Correct the sentence with correlative conjunction: Either you start working hard or you are failing.
5. Correct the sentence: The new policy is clear, concise, and it is effective.

Answers / Explanation

1. She enjoys singing, dancing, and painting.
2. He likes reading, writing, and biking.
3. We need to study, revise, and practice.
4. Either you start working hard or you start failing. or better: Either you work hard or you fail.
5. The new policy is clear, concise, and effective.