Sentence Skills
Unit 9 Sentence Parallelism
1. What Is Parallelism
For instance:
My first grade teacher was an elderly
woman. She was tall. And she had a
friendly manner.
My first grade teacher was an elderly, tall,
and friendly woman.
Almost any sentence element can
appear in a parallel form:
Parallel words: Recommended exercise includes
running, swimming, and cycling.
Parallel phrases: Exercise helps people to
maintain healthy bodies and to handle mental
pressures.
Parallel clauses: Many people begin to exercise
because they want to look healthy, because
they need to have stamina(体力）, and
because they hope to live longer.
2. What Is the Value Of Parallelism
Nonparallel: His novels reveal his
knowledge of the state’s history and that
he admires the people who first settled
there.
Parallel: His novels reveal his knowledge of
the state’s history and his admiration for
the people who first settled there. [The
parallel phrases make the sentence
smoother.]
Note the effectiveness of the parallel pairs
in the following two sentences:
a. Ambition in a man is praised; ambition in a
woman is denounced (谴责) as unfeminine.
b. Ask not what your country can do for you, but
what you can do for your country.
3. How to Achieve Parallelism
3.1 Express similar ideas in similar
grammatical forms
Nonparallel: The strikers had tried pleading,
threats, and shouting...
Parallel: The strikers had tried pleading,
threatening, and shouting.
Parallel: The strikers had tried pleas, threats,
and shouts.
3.2 Arrange parallel elements in
climactic order
This is a cause (事业) that means something
to thousands, to a people, to a nation, to
humanity, to God.
3.3 Use parallel forms with coordinating
conjunctions
This government of the people, by the
people, and for the people shall not perish
from the earth.
3.4 Use parallel forms with correlative
conjunctions
Writing permits us to understand not only
the world but also the self.
This is a time not for words, but for actions.
3.5 Repeat certain words to begin
parallel elements
They thought it was better to agree than quarrel.
They thought it was better to agree than to quarrel.
For the handicapped, getting an education is often
a tribulation, necessity, and victory.
For the handicapped, getting an education is often
a tribulation, a necessity, and a victory.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the
epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it
was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of
hope, it was the winter of despair, we had
everything before us, we had nothing before us,
we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all
going direct the other way.
— Charles Dickens
3.6 Use parallelism in making lists and
outlines
Americans now rely on the automobile because:
(1) Cities are sprawling, public transport is poor.
(2) Prestige (声望).
(3)The cheapness of gasoline for so long.
Americans now rely on the automobile because:
(1) Cities are sprawling and public transport is
poor.
(2) The automobile bestows prestige on its
owners.
(3) Gasoline was cheap for a very long time.
4. How to Avoid Faulty Parallelism
4.1 Avoid faulty use of correlative
conjunctions
Nonparallel: Most men who fought in the
Civil War were neither heroic nor were
they cowardly.
Parallel: Most men who fought in the Civil
War were neither heroic nor cowardly.
4.2 Avoid faulty omission of certain
words
Ambiguous: My mother shows her love by
cooking and serving her family.
Clear: My mother shows her love by cooking and
by serving her family.
4.3 Avoid nonparallel comparisons and
contrasts
Nonparallel: The new library was larger
than the old one, more beautiful than any
other building on campus, and it cost too
much money.
Parallel: The new library was larger than
the old one, more beautiful than any other
building on campus, and more expensive
to build than anyone had imagined.
Exercises:
Rewrite the following sentences to make clear parallel
constructions.
1. The American people have always loved to read
newspaper stories about murder, scandals, and
how to make money.
2. Either you begin to study now or risk failing the
exam.
3. He wanted three things out of college: to learn a
skill, to make good friends, and learning about
life.
4. She was a skilled a cook. As a host, however, she was
incompetent.
5. Presidential elections are often neither rational, and
they are not democratic either.
6. Carlos wasted his first year at college by not
studying enough and spending too much time at parties.
7. Mr. Green kept his store clean, neat, and he made it
conveniently arranged.
8. She is not a good writer, and neither is her speaking.
9. She made three promises—that she would try the
machine out, write up a report about it , and
tell her friends if she liked it.
10. Tom’s handwriting is better than Sally.