What is parallelism?  Plainly defined, it is the condition of being parallel or equivalent, having a balanced, corresponding relationship between parts.  When used in grammar, parallelism is defined as the use of the same grammatical form in corresponding words, clauses, or phrases.

Ex. All we do during the summer is eat, drink, and sleep.

Here, we see each items in a list equally corresponding to the others.

Ex. She will go to the store; he will go with her.

Here, we see the two independent clauses carrying the same weight, or pattern, in words and parts of speech: noun, verb, preposition, noun. 

Ex. We will ride to the mall, eat at the restaurant, and go to the movies.

Here, we see each phrase paralleling the others because each phrase follows the same speech pattern: verb, preposition, article, noun.

Parallelism is essential for writing balanced and rhythmic sentences.

In addition to our website, we recommend the following site: The Common Errors in English Page at http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html.  This site contains an alphabetical list of common errors found in the English language.

Test your understanding of the correct use of parallelism for words, clauses, and phrases by writing Correct after sentences that use parallelism correctly and Incorrect after sentences that don't:

1. We went to HEB, Wal-Mart, and stopped by the pet store.             

2. Mom said we have to eat the chicken.  She said we have to eat it now.           

3. We went shopping at Dillards, JCPenney, and Lowe’s.                              

4. Tomorrow we will eat turkey, drink tea, and watch sports.               

1. We went to HEB, Wal-Mart, and stopped by the pet store. [Incorrect]

2. Mom said we have to eat the chicken.  She said we have to eat it now. [Correct]

3. We went shopping at Dillards, JCPenney, and Lowe’s. [Correct]

4. Tomorrow we will eat turkey, drink tea, and watch sports. [Correct]

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

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