The first sentence has two gerunds and then a to infinitive. Parallelism fosters reading comprehension because it enables readers to chunk information elements of a sentence (e.g., words, phrases, sentences) as coequal and related. 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. Often parallelism is forgotten in sentences that contain pairs of things. Look at the following sentences. He is tall, dark and handsome. 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." The mix breaks the rhythm of parallel structure. In October, we plan to build a shed, paint it, and stock it. Each item in this series is expressed in the infinitive form, making the whole list parallel and, therefore, easier to understand. 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. Correcting Faulty Parallelism Parallelism often appears with verb forms. This structure is particularly effective when "specifying or enumerating pairs or series of like things". Parallel structure, or parallelism, means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more words or ideas are of equal importance. When it come to the full infinitive or the to- infinitive, it has it rules that it follows together with Conjunctions. In essence, parallelism is about using repetition and rhythm to emphasize your ideas. The gerunds running and biking are mixed with the infinitive to swim. To achieve parallelism, we'll make the series in the first sentence all infinitive verbs and the one in the second both participial phrases. grammatically parallel. [1] A scheme of balance, parallelism represents "one of the basic principles of grammar and rhetoric". 3. Parallelism occurs when when a writer joins two or more grammatical elements - words, phrases, or clauses - in grammatically balanced form. Whether at home, at work, or at the shelter, Amy put others' best interests first. [2] In the sentence above, the primary verb is "enjoy," which is followed by two direct objects, "the party" and "watching the fireworks.". That is, if there are two or more subjects, they are all nouns or noun phrases. Composing balanced parallel constructions contributes unity, coherence, and clarity to sentences. Rule to Remember Conjoined items in a sentence must be in the same grammatical form, i.e. The corrected version of the sentence looks like this: Egya likes laughing, singing, and writing. Using parallel structure provides clarity and places equal emphasis on the ideas you're putting forth. This is known as false parallelism. Parallelism is all about maintaining consistency among words, phrases, or clauses. Mixing verb forms sounds unnatural to native English speakers and affects the readability of a sentence. My mother likes cooking and knitting. To cook is an infinitive, but eating is a gerund. [1] The application of parallelism affects readability and may make texts easier to process. (Here we balance two -ing forms.) Parallelism is a rhetorical device that compounds words or phrases that have equivalent meanings so as to create a definite pattern. More precisely, in grammar, it's less about meeting and more about balance. the stuff after the "and" isn't infinitive any more, so the sentence isn't parallel infinitives anymore, so it gets interpreted differently. Parallel sentence elements in grammar are just like parallel lines in geometry: they face the same direction and never meet. A better choice, then, is to use three . Maintaining parallel balance helps the reader to connect, coordinate, compare, and contrast ideas. while the third element (to watch TV) uses the infinitive form, which contains the basic form and a . These "parallel" elements can be used to intensify the rhythm of language, or to draw a comparison, emphasize, or elaborate on an idea. If the sentence has a parallel structure, it improves grammar and brings flow in writing. You should always try to balance the grammatical structures of words, phrases, clauses or sentences in your writing. instead of Parallelism enables writers to add symmetry, effectiveness, and balance to their texts. Both series are clearly incongruent. This does not look or sound right and so it can be made parallel by instead using three gerunds . Or Sally loves . A common parallelism mistake is mixing gerunds with infinitives. Parallelism is all about balancing nouns with nouns, verbs with verbs, adjectives with adjectives, infinitives with infinitives and clauses with clauses. Parallelism is used to balance nouns with nouns, prepositional phrases with prepositional phrases, participles with participles, infinitives with infinitives, and clauses with clauses. My college professor encouraged me to pay attention to . Parallelism in grammar is defined as two or more phrases or clauses in a sentence that have the same grammatical structure. Today we're going to look at how to maintain parallelism in three stages. Parallelism, or parallel structure, is a way of providing balance to sentences or clauses by using a similar grammatical structure. Parallelism is also used with elements being compared. Parallelism is the way that we pattern writing so that similar elements in a sentence are grammatically equivalent. An infinitive is also a verb that functions like a noun, but it is constructed by using the word "to" plus the verb. This is an example of verbs that are not parallel. 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. Parallelism, especially in the grammatical sense, means the construction of a sentence having parallel elements whether it comprises verbs, nouns, infinitives, or clauses. the whole phrase . 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. . First, we'll explore parallelism using infinitive phrases and gerunds. In grammar, it refers to ensuring agreement in elements like number, verb tense, and adjective types. (Here we balance three adjectives.) Editing your work for parallel construction improves clarity and emphasizes your points. [2] 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. Words and phrases within a sentence should not only match in structure, but also in tense. The format of the sentence is awkward because these objects are not in parallel. 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. In order to make this list parallel, all three items should be in the same grammatical form. To repair the problem, choose either an infinitive ( to + verb) or a that clause on both sides of the a and b construction. Also known as parallel structure or parallel construction, using parallelism may help you avoid grammatically incorrect sentences. Consider the following example: NOT PARALLEL: In my high school, bad grades could be grounds for detention or being suspended. The correct sentence would be: Sally loves cooking and trying different dishes. Parallelism is the matching of the forms of words, phrases, or clauses within a sentence. Here is an example of a sentence that is NOT balanced: AWKWARD: I enjoyed the party and watching the fireworks. 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. Parallelism in writing occurs when you repeat the same grammatical form in multiple parts of a sentence. The shed will be made of wood and set near the back of the yard. It makes your sentences flow and roll off your readers' tongues easily and concisely. If there are two or more verbs, they are all of the same form.