English Grammar

1. Editing by:
1-Hussain al-Ghawi
2. Eman al-Zawwad
3. Mohannad Alnsour
4. Diego Auvert
5. Houda Jarid
Parallelism

2. Contents
 What is parallelism?
 Use similar structures to express similar ideas.
 Use parallelism in the following cases.
 Use parallel structure on both sides of
coordinating conjunctions.
 Exercises

3.  Parallelism:
1.means that similar parts of a sentence have the same structure:
nouns are with nouns, verbs with verbs, and phrases with
phrases
In other word:-
2. Parallelism in writing means that similar parts in a
sentence (2 or more) must have the same structure.
 Their parts are comparable and balanced.
 Allows writing to flow smoothly and helps avoid
misunderstandings.
 Note:
When similar parts do not follow the same structure,
you have created Faulty Parallelism.

4. For examples:-
1.Not parallelism : I like singing, kayaking, and to
dance.
2. parallelism: I like singing, kayaking, and
dancing
 Incorrect:-
Angry ants, munched the marshmallows, crumbling
coffeecake, and sipping syrup, headed off across
the countertop.
 Correct:-
Angry ants, munching marshmallows, crumbling

5. Use similar structures to express similar ideas.
 Put nouns with nouns
 Faulty (F): I enjoy basketball more than playing video
games.
 Correct (C) : I enjoy basketball more than video games. √
 Put verbs with verbs (and use same tense)
 F: On our anniversary, we ate, danced, and were singing.
 C: On our anniversary, we ate, danced, and sang.
 Put adjectives with adjectives
 F: My history class was both interesting and a challenge.
 C: My history class was both interesting and challenging.

6. Make sure to use parallelism in the following cases.
 When joining two or more items with and or or:
1.The party featured a four-foot cake and a singing gorilla.
2.I am doing well in my English class, in my math class, and
in my history class.
 In comparisons:
Taking the train is as fast as driving.
Driving to Austin is as fast as flying
 With certain paired words (like both/and, either/or, and
neither/nor):
Marlize both bakes bread and fixes cars.
My history course is both interesting and challenging

7. Use parallel structure on both sides of coordinating
conjunctions
(for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
FANBOYS
For example,
1. She possessed all the wizard’s charm yet none of the wizard’s
insight.
2. Consult a doctor if your coughing persists or if your coughing
worsens over the weekend.
3. In English class, Diego learned to read poems critically and
appreciate good prose..
4. A swimmer was attacked by a shark, but he scared it away
by poking it in the eye.

8. Paired Conjunctions: (Both…and; not only. . . but also;
either. . .or; neither . . . nor)
For example,,
 Both my mother and my sister are here.
 Not only my mother but also my sister is here.
 Neither my sister nor my parents are here.
 We can have either broccoli or cauliflower for dinner.
 Note:
1.When we use (both. . . and) the verb is always
plural.
2. When we use (not only…but also; neither. . .
nor; either. . . or) the verb is always in the form of the
word directly before it

9. Choose the correct answer to fill
in the blank.
1. Ella’s job responsibilities include ____,
training, and informing workers of company
policies.
A) to hire
B) hired
C) hire
D) none of the above

10. Choose the correct answer to fill
in the blank.
1.Ella’s job responsibilities include ____,
training, and informing workers of company
policies.
ANSWER:
A) to hire
B) hired
C) hire
D) none of the above; hiring is the correct
answer.

11. More Exercises:-
2. Henry likes pizza more than _______.
A) spinach
B) to eat spinach
C) to be eating spinach
D) none of the above

12. More Exercises:-
2.Henry likes pizza more than _______.
ANSWER:
A) spinach
B) to eat spinach
C) to be eating spinach
D) none of the above

13. More Exercises:-
3.He drove to the store to buy milk, eggs, and
_______.
A) to get bread
B) bread
C) getting bread
D) none of the above

14. More Exercises:-
3.He drove to the store to buy milk, eggs, and
_______.
ANSWER:
A) to get bread
B) bread
C) getting bread
D) none of the above

15. More Exercises:-
4.Tom jogs, swims, and _________.
A) he is kick boxing
B) kick boxes
C) he kick boxes
D) none of the above

16. More Exercises:-
4.Tom jogs, swims, and _________.
ANSWER:
A) he is kick boxing
B) kick boxes
C) he kick boxes
D) none of the above

17. More Exercises:-
5.The film had many stars, used various special
effects, and ________.
A) violence
B) featured graphic violence
C) it was violent
D) none of the above

18. More Exercises:-
5.The film had many stars, used various special
effects, and ________.
ANSWER:
A) violence
B) featured graphic violence
C) it was violent
D) none of the above

19. More Exercises:-
6.I think that learning a new language is harder
than ____.
A) math
B) to learn math
C) learning math
D) none of the above

20. More Exercises:-
6.I think that learning a new language is harder
than ____.
ANSWER:
A) math
B) to learn math
C) learning math
D) none of the above

21. More Exercises:-
7.For some very shy people, giving a speech
can be as frightening as _________.
A) having a serious illness
B) illness
C) to have an illness
D) none of the above

22. More Exercises:-
7.For some very shy people, giving a speech
can be as frightening as _________.
ANSWER:
A) having a serious illness
B) illness
C) to have an illness
D) none of the above

23. More Exercises:-
8.I’d rather be lucky or hardworking than
________.
A) to have talent
B) having talent
C) talented
D) none of the above

24. More Exercises:-
8.I’d rather be lucky or hardworking than
________.
ANSWER:
A) to have talent
B) having talent
C) Talented √
D) none of the above

25. More Exercises:-
9. That football team has both a good offense
and ______.
A) it has a good defense
B) a good defense
C) having a good defense
D) none of the above

26. More Exercises:-
9. That football team has both a good offense
and ______.
ANSWER:
A) it has a good defense
B) a good defense √
C) having a good defense
D) none of the above

27. Last Exercises:-
10. Bob is not only loyal to friends but also
________.
A) he is friendly to strangers
B) to be friendly to strangers
C) friendly to strangers
D) none of the above

28. Answer last Exercises:-
Bob is not only loyal to friends but also
________.
ANSWER:
A) he is friendly to strangers
B) to be friendly to strangers
C) friendly to strangers √
D) none of the above

29. Sources
 1.
http://esla199.pbworks.com/w/page/23276972/Pa
rallel%20Structure,%20Paired%20Conjunctions,
%20Coordinating%20Conjunctions.
 2.
arkcs.arkansas.gov/pp.../parallel_structure.ppt.
 3. Parallelism ppt, Brenham Writing Room,
Created by D. Herring.