(Here we balance three adjectives.) To cook is an infinitive, but eating is a gerund. It makes your sentences flow and roll off your readers' tongues easily and concisely. Parallel structure, or parallelism, means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more words or ideas are of equal importance. [1] The application of parallelism affects readability and may make texts easier to process. Look at the following sentences. Whether at home, at work, or at the shelter, Amy put others' best interests first. Parallelism often appears with verb forms. My college professor encouraged me to pay attention to . In essence, parallelism is about using repetition and rhythm to emphasize your ideas. I can think of two grammatical ways to parse it; the most natural interpretation would that "to fight for them and bring those changes in the life of people" is an infinitive phrase , i.e. The correct sentence would be: Sally loves cooking and trying different dishes. while the third element (to watch TV) uses the infinitive form, which contains the basic form and a . Parallelism, or parallel structure, is a way of providing balance to sentences or clauses by using a similar grammatical structure. First, we'll explore parallelism using infinitive phrases and gerunds. Here's a quick and simple definition: Parallelism is a figure of speech in which two or more elements of a sentence (or series of sentences) have the same grammatical structure. Parallelism is the matching of the forms of words, phrases, or clauses within a sentence. Parallelism in grammar is defined as two or more phrases or clauses in a sentence that have the same grammatical structure. Parallelism is all about balancing nouns with nouns, verbs with verbs, adjectives with adjectives, infinitives with infinitives and clauses with clauses. Parallelism is a rhetorical device that compounds words or phrases that have equivalent meanings so as to create a definite pattern. This structure is particularly effective when "specifying or enumerating pairs or series of like things". Parallelism fosters reading comprehension because it enables readers to chunk information elements of a sentence (e.g., words, phrases, sentences) as coequal and related. The format of the sentence is awkward because these objects are not in parallel. This sentence uses the coordinating conjunction "and" to link two of Jane's hobbies, but it contains faulty parallel structure because "to run" is an infinitive phrase while "swimming" is a gerund. In order to make this list parallel, all three items should be in the same grammatical form. Each item in this series is expressed in the infinitive form, making the whole list parallel and, therefore, easier to understand. Parallelism is also used with elements being compared. the stuff after the "and" isn't infinitive any more, so the sentence isn't parallel infinitives anymore, so it gets interpreted differently. instead of An infinitive is also a verb that functions like a noun, but it is constructed by using the word "to" plus the verb. the whole phrase . If the sentence has a parallel structure, it improves grammar and brings flow in writing. grammatically parallel. My mother likes cooking and knitting. The mix breaks the rhythm of parallel structure. Editing your work for parallel construction improves clarity and emphasizes your points. In grammar, it refers to ensuring agreement in elements like number, verb tense, and adjective types. In October, we plan to build a shed, paint it, and stock it. Parallelism in writing occurs when you repeat the same grammatical form in multiple parts of a sentence. [1] A scheme of balance, parallelism represents "one of the basic principles of grammar and rhetoric". Parallelism is the way that we pattern writing so that similar elements in a sentence are grammatically equivalent. Parallelism (grammar) In grammar, parallelism, also known as parallel structure or parallel construction, is a balance within one or more sentences of similar phrases or clauses that have the same grammatical structure. Now, whenever there is a conjunct "and" used after a to- infinitive verb, the second verb does not take the particle.. "to" So one could say: All that he has to do, is to stay and take her to the hospital. The first sentence has two gerunds and then a to infinitive. When it come to the full infinitive or the to- infinitive, it has it rules that it follows together with Conjunctions. More precisely, in grammar, it's less about meeting and more about balance. You should always try to balance the grammatical structures of words, phrases, clauses or sentences in your writing. This is an example of verbs that are not parallel. Parallelism occurs when when a writer joins two or more grammatical elements - words, phrases, or clauses - in grammatically balanced form. To achieve parallelism, we'll make the series in the first sentence all infinitive verbs and the one in the second both participial phrases. That is, if there are two or more subjects, they are all nouns or noun phrases. . The shed will be made of wood and set near the back of the yard. In the sentence above, the primary verb is "enjoy," which is followed by two direct objects, "the party" and "watching the fireworks.". Rule to Remember Conjoined items in a sentence must be in the same grammatical form, i.e. Parallelism is used to balance nouns with nouns, prepositional phrases with prepositional phrases, participles with participles, infinitives with infinitives, and clauses with clauses. Often parallelism is forgotten in sentences that contain pairs of things. Both series are clearly incongruent. (Here we balance two -ing forms.) Here is an example of a sentence that is NOT balanced: AWKWARD: I enjoyed the party and watching the fireworks. Composing balanced parallel constructions contributes unity, coherence, and clarity to sentences. He is tall, dark and handsome. Today we're going to look at how to maintain parallelism in three stages. [2] Parallelism enables writers to add symmetry, effectiveness, and balance to their texts. This does not look or sound right and so it can be made parallel by instead using three gerunds . Mixing verb forms sounds unnatural to native English speakers and affects the readability of a sentence. It is also used with elements joined by conjunctions, such as "My mother likes cooking and to read" compared to "My mother likes cooking and reading." Parallelism is all about maintaining consistency among words, phrases, or clauses. If there are two or more verbs, they are all of the same form. Consider the following example: NOT PARALLEL: In my high school, bad grades could be grounds for detention or being suspended. To repair the problem, choose either an infinitive ( to + verb) or a that clause on both sides of the a and b construction. Parallel sentence elements in grammar are just like parallel lines in geometry: they face the same direction and never meet. [2] These "parallel" elements can be used to intensify the rhythm of language, or to draw a comparison, emphasize, or elaborate on an idea. Parallelism (peh-ruh-LEL-iz-um) is a grammatical and rhetorical term for creating a sense of linguistic balance by repeating elements within a sentence, over the course of several sentences, or in a longer work or speech. Also known as parallel structure or parallel construction, using parallelism may help you avoid grammatically incorrect sentences. This is known as false parallelism. Correcting Faulty Parallelism Words and phrases within a sentence should not only match in structure, but also in tense. In this example, the infinitive provides the more elegant solution: He warned me to revise my essay a and to pay close attention to parallel structures b. Parallelism, especially in the grammatical sense, means the construction of a sentence having parallel elements whether it comprises verbs, nouns, infinitives, or clauses. The corrected version of the sentence looks like this: Egya likes laughing, singing, and writing. 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