Parallelism - the expression of two or more ideas in matching grammatical form
At times, you will need to present two or more equal ideas in a sentence. You must then be careful to
present the ideas in matching form. This matching form is called parallelism. Look at the following
example:
Not parallel: Dinner consisted of baked potatoes, pork chops that were broiled, and steamed broccoli.
All of the item in the list play an equal role in that sentence, so they should be expressed in parallel form.
Baked potatoes and steamed broccoli are parallel. The adjectives come before the nouns they describe.
But the form of pork chops that were broiled is different. To achieve parallelism, give the nonparallel item
the same form as the others:
Parallel: Dinner consisted of baked potatoes, broiled pork chops, and steamed broccoli.
When using parallelism, note the grammatical forms you are using:
Nouns: rain, hail, and sleet
Adjectives: tall, dark, and handsome
Prepositional phrases: over the moon and beyond the rainbow
Nouns and past tense verbs: he washed, she dried
-Ing word groups that end in nouns: singing duets, playing the piano, and dancing the tango
When to use parallelism
1. Use parallelism when presenting a series of items
Not parallel: On summer weekends, my family spends time hiking, visiting friends, and they go to the
movies.
Parallel: On summer weekends, my family spends time hiking, visiting friends, and going to the
movies.
2. Use parallelism for pairs of ideas linked by connecting words, such as and and or. Other
connecting words are either/or, neither/nor, and not only/but also.
Not parallel: I can either stay at work late tonight or tomorrow I could come in to work early.
Parallel: I can either stay at work late tonight or come in to work early tomorrow.
Not parallel: My older brother and the only sister I have are not coming to my wedding.
Parallel: My older brother and only sister are not coming to the wedding.
3. Use parallelism in comparisons using than or as. The things being compared should be in parallel
form.
Not parallel: It is often kinder to tell a partial truth than revealing the whole truth.
Parallel: It is often kinder to tell a partial truth than to reveal the whole truth.
Parallelism will help your words flow smoothly and clearly. It will help eliminate awkward language in
your papers, and, in general, it adds power and polish to writing.
Additionally, checking for parallelism is a good editing habit, as it can also help you in identifying other
common problems, such as shifting verb tense or subject-verb agreement, especially in complex
sentences.