Explanation
What Is Parallel Structure? Making a sentence parallel simply involves making the sentence balanced. The laws of parallelism: Words or phrases must be in the same form of speech (adjectives, verbs, nouns). They must use the same structure. Remove unnecessary (extra) words. Check parallelism when you see: Lists, Comparisons, Standard phrases, Pronouns, Conjunctions. 1. Balancing Lists Incorrect: She went swimming, running, and danced all night. Correct: She went swimming, running, and dancing all night. 2. Balancing Comparison Same form on both sides (verb verb, noun noun, gerund gerund, to+verb to+verb). Correct: Jefferson liked participating more than he liked playing basketball. 3. Standard Phrases Fixed word patterns that come in pairs. Both sides MUST be parallel: Not only... but also... Either... or... Neither... nor... Both... and... Prefer... to... From... to... So... that... Whether... or... Between... and... As... as... Not so much... as... Just as... so too... More/Less... than... 4. Balancing Pronouns Keep pronouns consistent. Incorrect: One should always do what you want. Correct: One should always do what one wants. 5. Balancing Two Sides of a Conjunction Words joined by and / but / or must be in the same form. Correct: To prepare for the party, we should set the table and make the pasta.