Transcript Usage Unit
Usage Unit: Parallel Structure Parallel • Means similar. • Route 19 and I-79 are parallel highways. Rule 1 • Ideas must be written in PARALLEL form. (similar grammatical form) Example • Cindy is witty, friendly, and makes everyone laugh. • 3 things about Cindy • Which one is not PARALLEL? Revision • Cindy is witty, friendly, and funny. • The 3 ideas are written as adjectives. Rule 2 • Look for and, but, and or . These words connect equal ideas. • Example: Some people pay little attention to what they eat or their clothes. Revision • Some people pay little attention to what they eat or what they wear. Rule 3 • Watch for words that make comparisons. • Than, as, as if, between • Example: Texting is faster than to write. Revision • Texting is faster than writing. Rule 4 • Watch for illogical comparisons. • Example: Bob’s goals were more realistic than his brother. • What’s the illogical comparison? • Answer: Bob’s goals are being compared to his brother!!!!! Revision • Add a pronoun (that/those) and a preposition. • Bob’s goals were more realistic than those of his brother. • OR… • Bob’s goals were more realistic than his brother’s. (What you’re really saying here is Bob’s goals were more realistic than his brother’s goals were realistic.) Rule 5 • Watch for paired conjunctions. • Not only/but also; not only/but as well (can also be Not only/but • Neither/nor; either/or • Both/and Example • Steve not only likes pizza but also pasta. Revision • Steve likes not only pizza but also pasta. • Moving the verb out of the first idea creates parallel structure in both. • Hint: Look for the extra word(s) in the first idea and move them out, usually in front of the first correlative conjunction. Rule 6 • Watch for a missing preposition. Example • Visiting Disney was as much fun for my niece as us. • This construction actually says: Visiting Disney was fun us!!! • There is no need to copy the clause, Visiting Disney was much fun; if you add a preposition after as, you create an elliptical construction and also create parallel structure. Revision • Visiting Disney was as much fun for my niece as for us. Rule 7 • Watch for a missing article (a, an, the). Example • My grandmother enjoyed meeting the Polish Pope and American president. Revision • My grandmother enjoyed meeting the Polish Pope and the American president. Rule 8 Watch for a switch in voice of verb. Active voice: subject performs action. Passive voice: subject receives action or cannot perform it. p.s. Active voice is preferred. The teacher graded essays. (active) Essays were graded by the teacher. (passive) Example • Manning fired the ball, and the pass was caught by his receiver. • 1st independent clause is written in active. (Manning---ball) • 2nd independent clause is written in passive. (pass---receiver) • Both verbs must be parallel. Active voice is preferred. Revision • Manning fired the ball, and his receiver caught the pass. First Try • All this waste happens before any lid is popped, any can is opened, or if we break the seal. Bottom line • Multiple ideas in a sentence must be written in parallel form.