Grammar Review: Parallelism

1. Grammar Review: Parallelism Monday, Nov. 28th

2. What is Parallelism? • When two or more equal ideas are expressed in matching form • Helps words flow smoothly and clearly • Without parallelism sentences are awkward and difficult to read

3. Parallel Structure Explained • For a list of actions or items, you must maintain parallel structure • To do this, use equal grammatical units • If the first item is a noun, then the following items must also be nouns • If the first item is a verb, then make the other items verbs as well At the garden store, Lisa bought , , and . At the garden store, Lisa bought plastic pink flamingos, ceramic gnomes, and a concrete mermaid.

4. Parallel Structure • Parallelism looks like this: Shane ate the pizza, wiped his lips, and burped with contentment. ate = past tense verb wiped = past tense verb burped = past tense verb Shane , , and . Shane , , and .

5. Nonparallel Structure You make problems when you mix different tenses • Nonparallel structure looks like this: Ex: Shane ate the pizza, wiped his lips, and burping with contentment. ate = past tense verb wiped = past tense verb burping = present participle Shane , , and . Shane , , and . WRONG!

6. Correcting Nonparallel Items • You have two options to fix nonparallel items • Make the nonparallel item conform to the other grammatical items in the sentence: We spent the hour in the waiting room reading old magazines, eating stale cookies from the vending machine, and we wiggled on the plastic chairs. Corrected: We spent the hour in the waiting room reading old magazines, eating stale cookies from the vending machine, and wiggling on the plastic chairs. Participle phrase Participle phrase A main clause

7. Or, alter the first two items instead: In the waiting room, we read old magazines, ate stale cookies from the vending machine, and wiggled on the plastic chairs. Another example… Nonparallel: My aunt is selfish, impatient, and she is not a kind person. To be parallel, she is not a kind personshould have a form that matches selfish and impatient. Parallel: My aunt is selfish, impatient, and unkind.

8. Not Parallel: Every morning I have to feed the dog and bringing in the mail. In order for the sentence to be parallel, both feed the dog and bringing in the mail must be in the same form. Parallel: Every morning I have to feed the dog and bring in the mail. Not Parallel: Our neighbors spend a lot of time shopping, visiting friends, and they go to the movies. The sentence lists a series of activities. Shopping and visiting both end in –ing. To be parallel, they go to the movies must be revised to include an –ing word. Parallel: Our neighbors spend a lot of time shopping, visiting friends, and going to the movies.

9. Recognize Special Cases • Not only … but also, either … or, and neither … nor all require special attention when you are proofreading for parallelism • These conjunctions require equal grammatical units after both parts of the conjunction • Options for correcting include: • Using two main clausesNot only did Jerome buy flowers for his mother, but he also purchased a bouquet for Yolanda, his wife. • Using two prepositional phrases Jerome bought flowers not only for his mother but also for Yolanda, his wife. • Using two nouns Jerome bought flowers for not only his mother but also Yolanda, his wife.

10. Practice Select the sentence that is correct. • During class, Sam spent his time flirting with Brittney, eating candy, and doodling on the assignment sheet. • During class, Sam spent his time flirting with Brittney, he ate candy, and doodling on the assignment sheet. • During class, Sam spent his time to flirt with Brittney, to eat candy, and doodling on the assignment sheet. Select the letter which completes the sentence correctly. Kimberly won’t date Terry because he is too short, too noisy, and _________________. • because he picks his teeth with his fingers • too impolite • is the most impatient man she has ever met • picking his teeth with his fingers

11. Independent Practice • Complete Test 4 page 181 Select the sentence that uses parallelism correctly. • a. Mowing the lawn and to weed the garden are two chores I must complete on Saturday. b. To mow the lawn and weeding the garden are two chores I must complete on Saturday. c. Mowing the lawn and weeding the garden are two chores I must complete on Saturday.

12. Homework • Complete the packet for Tuesday • English III – IR Test tomorrow; Also bring your yellow textbook to class tomorrow • AP – Complete packet for Wednesday; Bring your Language Comp book tomorrow