What is Parallel Structure?
• The use of the same pattern of words that
show two or more ideas have the same level of
importance.
• Happens at the word, phrase, clause, or
sentence level
• Join parallel
structures using
certain FANBOYS
such as “and”/”or”
Gerund (verb) Usage
• -ING ending
Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming,
and biking.
Infinitive (verb) Phrases
• - to usage
Parallel: The dog likes to hike, to swim, and
to ride a bicycle
How can we make it parallel?
-ly (adverb) Usage
Parallel: The dog swims quickly, happily, and
energetically.
Not Parallel: The dog swims quickly, happily, and
in an energetic fashion.
Famous Examples of Parallel Structure
"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask
what you can do for your country." - John F.
Kennedy
=Same verb usage
“ASK” in present tense
Mixing Forms
• Do not mix verb forms
Ex: The dog likes hiking, swimming, and to
ride a bicycle.
This is NOT parallel
structure.
How can we make it
parallel?
Famous Examples of Parallel Structure
• “I have a dream that one day this
nation will rise up and live out the
true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold
these truths to be self-evident that
all men are created equal.’
• I have a dream that one day on the
red hills of Georgia the sons of
former slaves and the sons of
former slave owners will be able to
sit down together at the table of
brotherhood.
• I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of
injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will
be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”