When writing sentences with words or groups of words joined into pairs or a series, the words or groups must be expressed in the same grammatical structure. A series cannot mix nouns and verb clauses, for example, or nouns and adjectives. A series may not mix verb tenses, either.

Here are some examples:

noun + noun + noun:

He likes roses, violets, and bicycles.

 

verb + verb + verb:

When she was on stage, she danced, sang, and acted like an angel.

 

adjective + adjective + adjective:

My teacher is fussy, picky, and hard-headed.

 

participle + participle:

They danced through life, loving one another and enjoying their adventures.

 

infinitive + infinitive + infinitive: 

I like to sing, (to) draw, and (to) write poetry.

 

phrase + phrase:

With his arms akimbo and in a state of bliss, he leaped off the cliff.

 

clause + clause:

If she capitulates and when she apologizes, we will forgive her blunders and unforgettable actions.

To check for parallelism, separate the items in a pair or series and see if they are in the same form:

Wrong:

At the age of two, she loves to eat, to play, and napping.

Test:

At the age of two, she loves to eat        to play         and napping.

(and napping does not agree with the first two items)

Correct:

At the age of two, she loves to eat, to play, and to nap.

At the age of two, she loves to eat, play, and nap.

At the age of two, she loves eating, playing, and napping.

You can also break the series into different sentences to check for parallelism:

At the age of two, she loves to eat

At the age of two, she loves to play.

At the age of two, she loves to napping.

 

Another problem in parallelism occurs when you are using two verbs in a sentence and they are not grammatically parallel.

Wrong:

The doctors have been and will continue to conduct tests on the sick patient.

Test:

The doctors have been conduct tests on the sick patient. (Have been conduct is wrong)

The doctors will continue to conduct tests on the sick patient.  (This one if fine)

Correct:

The doctors have been conducting and will continue to conduct tests on the sick patient.

Often parallelism problems occur when one preposition is expected to do the work of two:

Wrong:

She is a believer and supporter of the theory of love at first sight.

Test:

She is a believer of the theory of love at first sight. (one is a believer in a theory, not of a theory)

She is a supporter of the theory of love at first sight. (this one is fine)

Correct:

She is a believer in and a supporter of the theory of love at first sight.

Click on this link for some parallel structure practice.

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