Parallel Structure Video Lecture

This lesson is about using parallel structure. You may remember, hearing parallel structure in your math class when you talked about shapes and lines, but, that’s not what we’re talking about here. In English, you can think of parallel as meaning balanced, like in the picture of the scale on the right. The scale is balanced. In English we make parallel structure in our sentences. We make parallel structure by using the same grammar forms or grammar structures. In the first example here, he loves to swim and sleep. Swim and sleep are both verbs. It’s important that their both verbs, because we have this conjunction and joining them. On both sides of the conjunction, we need to have the same form. In the next example, cake and cookies are both nouns. And that’s important, because they’re joined by the conjunction and. In the last example, we have three adjectives. It’s important that they’re all adjectives, because they’re also joined with and. Here are some of the connectors that need to have parallel structure and we already looked at. We saw that whatever’s on either side of and needs to be the same form, the same is true for but. Whatever’s in front of it or after it, needs to be the same grammatical structure. We also have both, and. With this structure, whatever goes after both must be the same structure as what goes after and. The same thing is true with not only, but also. With this connector, you need to have the same grammatical structure in both of the blanks. Look at this example, I was looking for an apartment that was both close to my work and easy to afford. We have the two connectors both and, so whatever follows those two words has to be the same structure. And we have close to my work and easy to afford, both of those are adjective phrases. So they are the same structure. So this sentence has parallel structure. Let’s look at an example that does not have parallel structure. I want to find a gym that is not only close to my apartment, but also I want to find a cheap one. We have the connectors, not only and but also. Remember that whatever follows those two connectors needs to be the same grammatical structure. Close to my apartment is an adjective phrase. I want to find a cheap one is an independent clause. So those are not the same structure. If our sentence does not have parallel structure, then we have to fix it. Here’s one way that we could fix it, just change that independent clause to an adjective. Now close to my apartment and affordable are both adjective phrases and we have parallel structure. Let’s try correcting one more. This one is also not parallel, can you see why? We have the structure, something but not something else. Those two structures need to be the same form. But before but, we have being alone. We have gerund. After but, we have not to die, which is an infinitive. Gerunds and infinitives are not the same forms. We can correct this sentence by changing it. We could say, he is afraid of being alone but not dying. Now this section has parallel structure.