HERMES COUNCIL
startup
URT English
Course
Session (3)
September
In cooperation with:
Dr. Ibrahim Ghonaim
2023_2024
PARALLELISM
Making a sentence parallel simply involves making the sentence balanced.
Grammar is based on parallel structure.
THE LAWS OF PARALLELISM demand that words or phrases be in the same form
of speech (adjectives, verbs, nouns) and use the same structure. Often, balancing a
phrase requires the removal of extraneous words.
comparisons: more than, as much as,
is, like
WHEN YOU SEE lists, comparisons, standard phrases: not only/but also,
standard phrases, pronouns, and so/that, either/or, neither/nor, prefer/to
conjunctions, CHECK for parallelism.
pronouns: one, you
conjunctions: and, but
LESSON 1.1 BALANCING LISTS
EXAMPLE She went swimming, running, and danced all night. X
She went swimming, running, and dancing all night. ✓
This is a call for all professors, editors, and people who collaborate. X
This is a call for all professors, editors, and collaborators. ✓
LESSON 1.2 BALANCING COMPARISONS
EXAMPLE
Jefferson actually liked to participate in the science league more than
he liked playing basketball. X
Jefferson actually liked participating in the science league more than
he liked playing basketball. ✓
Jefferson actually liked to participate in the science league more than
he liked to play basketball. ✓
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LESSON 1.3 BALANCING TWO SIDES OF A STANDARD PHRASE
EXAMPLE Judging by the look on his face, Paul is either nervous or filled with excitement. X
Judging by the look on his face, Paul is either nervous or excited. ✓
I prefer eating salty foods to sweet foods. X
I prefer eating salty foods to eating sweet foods. ✔
LESSON 1.4 BALANCING PRONOUNS
EXAMPLE One should always do what you want. X
One should always do what one wants. ✓
You should always do what you want. ✓
LESSON 1.5 BALANCING TWO SIDES OF A STANDARD PHRASE
EXAMPLE To prepare for the party, we should set the table and making the pasta. X
To prepare for the party, we should set the table and make the pasta. ✓
John's book is informative but full of entertainment. X
John's book is informative but entertaining. ✓
As mentioned before, sometimes balancing a sentence merely requires the
OMISSION of extraneous words.
X The students were happy to learn the lesson, finish the homework, and they
could enjoy the weekend.
✓ The students were happy to learn the lesson, finish the homework, and enjoy
the weekend.
Use this space for additional notes. The following pages have exercises regarding
Parallelism.
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Exercise One:
1) H1-Both Dorothy Sayers plus Carolyn 5-Meals prepared by the Algonquin Indians, who
Heilbronn have written scholarly works as well were farmers as well as hunters, included more
as popular murder mysteries, demonstrating a maize and pumpkin than other Indian tribes.
diversity of talents and interests. (A) NO CHANGE
(A) NO CHANGE (B) pumpkin than did those prepared by
(B) but also other Indian tribes
(C) and (C) pumpkin than that which other Indian
(D) to tribes did
(D) pumpkin; and other Indian tribes did not
2-The bookstore sold three times as many prepare meals in this way
textbooks this week as they ordinarily do in
an entire month. 6-The current generation of high school
(A) NO CHANGE students has more educational opportunities, job
(B) as they ordinarily sell training possibilities, and career options to
(C) as it ordinarily sells consider before entering the work force than
(D) than they ordinarily sell any other generation has had.
(A) NO CHANGE
3-The nineteenth-century lying of the first (B) do any generation
telegraph cables between Europe and (C) for other generations
America was a project plagued by cable (D) would any generation
breakage, financial setbacks, and
overcoming logistical problem. 7-The landscape artist who designed Central
(A) NO CHANGE Park New York City's central park believed that
(B) plagued by cable the breakage and providing scenic settings accessible to all would
financial setbacks, and by overcoming not only benefit the public's physical and mental
logistical problems health and also foster a sense democracy.
(C) that was plagued by the occurrence (A)NO CHANGE
of cable breakage and s financial (B) and would foster a sense of democracy
setbacks, with logistical problems also
(D) plagued by cable breakage, financial (C)but also foster a sense of democracy
setbacks, and logistical problems (D) and foster a sense of democracy also
4-One reason that an insect can walk on walls
while a human cannot is that the mass of its
tiny body is far lower than humans.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) far lower than that of the human's
body
(C) lower by far than humans
(D) far lower than a human
(4)
8-A fine orchestral performance will exhibit 13-Confident that she was fully prepared, Ellen
the skills of the musicians, their abilities to decided to spend the night before the recital
work as an ensemble, and how he or she reading and relaxing but not be practicing.
responds to the conductor. (A) NO CHANGE
(A) NO CHANGE (B) more than to practice
(B) their responding (C) rather than practicing
(C) their responses (D) rather than having practiced
(D) they respond
9-The bristlecone pine has a maximum life 14-During the 1920s many Cuban painters who
span of about 5000 years, which is much had traveled abroad returned to their homeland to
longer than almost any other tree. produce paintings that were more angular and
(A) NO CHANGE stylized than conventional Western painters.
(B) and this is much longer than (A) NO CHANGE
(C) much longer than that of (B) west painters who were conventional
(D) much the longest of (C) conventions of Western painting
(D) conventional Western paintings
10-Studying dance for many years,
practicing difficult steps every day, and 15-When, after bleak and lonely years in an English
frequent performances has enabled the public school, he returned to India, there was
young dancer the leading role in the spring suddenly perceived by himself a strong to write
production. about the people and land he love.
(A) NO CHANGE (A) NO CHANGE
(B) a frequent performances, the young (B) suddenly the feeling that came to him
dancer being enabled being
(C) frequent performances, these (C) he suddenly felt
enabled the young dancer (D) suddenly he had had the feeling of
(D) Performing frequently enabled the
young dancer 4-I read recently that classical music is more
popular among European high school students
11-The furnace exploded, blowing off the than students in America.
door, spraying greasy soot all over the (A) NO CHANGE
basement floor, and it would rattle furniture (B) than among American high school
and windowpanes throughout the building. students
(A) NO CHANGE (C) than the same music is among American
(B) it rattled high schools
(C) causing the rattling of (D) than is its popularity among American
(D) rattling students
12-The development of an all-electric
airplane is more problematic and complex
than an all- electric car, several
aeronautical companies are working to
design and build all electric airplanes.
(A) NO CHANGE
(B) all-electric cars
(C) those of an all-electric car
(D) the development of an all-electric
car
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These are examples of questions that you will see on the
Exercise Two:
SAT concerning Parallelism. Follow the directions below.
Questions 1-5 are based on the 1-
following passage. A) NO CHANGE
Parallelism B) To write was always easier for her
than having talked.
1 To write was always easier for her
C) Writing was always easier for her than
than talking. Jane Wu, author of The Ties
to talk.
That Bind Us, seems to have been born the
quintessential author. She has other D) Writing was always easier for her than
hobbies, of course. 2 She enjoys playing talking.
golf, tennis, and to play. chess. She
sometimes collects stray cats and 2-
delivers them to a shelter where the kind A) NO CHANGE
people 3 care for these unwanted B) to play golf, to play tennis, and to play
creatures and are finding homes for chess.
them. But she does all of this in a C) playing golf, tennis, and chess.
perfunctory way. It is in her novels that D) playing golf, playing tennis, and chess.
she is 4 both at home and peacefully.
The novels are the place where her
3_
passion comes alive. Her 5 characters
A) NO CHANGE
fly and are dancing through their
emotionally vigorous lives creating sharp B) care for these unwanted creatures
contrasts with Wu's own persona of and try to find homes for them.
calmness and introspection. C) cares for these unwanted creatures,
also trying to find homes for them.
D) caring for these unwanted creatures
and try to find homes for them
4-
A) NO CHANGE
B) at home and at peace.
C) at home and peace.
D) homeful and peaceful.
5-
A) NO CHANGE
B) are flying and are dancing
C) fly and dance
D) flying and dancing
(6)
PRONOUN CASE
Similar to SUBJECT/PRONOUN, PRONOUN CASE
WHEN YOU SEE a PRONOUN focuses on the correct use of a pronoun in
you must ask yourself: relation to the rest of the sentence. Below are
general instances in which the SAT will test
PRONOUN CASE.
"Is this pronoun in the proper form?"
LESSON 2.1 PEOPLE OR GROUPS
You will see a pronoun combined with ANOTHER PRONOUN, PERSON, or
GROUP by a conjunction.
EXAMPLE
The sports team and he... Sally and they...
Read the following sentence:
Every Sunday at the playground, the other children and her pretended to be valiant knights.
Did you see the problem? If not, here is what you should do when you see a pronoun used in
combination with another person or group:
STOP and PLACE YOUR FINGER over the other person or group and REREAD
the sentence.
Every Sunday at the playground, the other children and her pretended to be valiant knights.
her pretended X she pretended ✓
Every Sunday at the playground, the other children and she pretended to be valiant knights. ✓
EXAMPLE The school presented the award to Andre and he.
The school presented the award to Andre and he.
presented the award to he X
presented the award to him ✓
The school presented the award to Andre and him. ✓
EXAMPLE Us and the other parents went to the beach.
Us and the other parents went to the beach.
Us went X
We went ✓
✓
(7) We and the other parents went to the beach .
LESSON 2.2 THAN OR AS
Pronoun Case may also appear in comparisons usually indicated by the
words THAN or AS:
No one has scored as many
No one did better than her.
touchdowns as him.
In both sentences, there is an implied verb after the pronoun. Here is what you
should do: INSERT the implied verb to REVEAL the correct pronoun.
No one did better than her (did). No one has scored as many touchdowns as
him (scored).
her did X
she did ✓ him scored X
✓
No one did better than she. ✓ he scored
No one has scored as many touchdowns as
he, ✓
EXAMPLE
Betty is faster than me. Chris is as noisy as her.
Betty is faster than me (am). Chris is as noisy as her (is).
her is X
me am X
I am ✓ she is ✓
✓
Betty is faster than I. Chris is as noisy as she. ✓
LESSON 2.3 REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
Another way that you will see PRONOUN CASE is in REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
such as himself, herself, themselves, ourselves, and myself. Note: myself is the
most commonly used on the SAT. If you see me or myself underlined, check to
make sure that the pronoun is being used properly.
To celebrate my graduation, I scheduled a party for me and the other graduates.
I scheduled a party for me X
I scheduled a party for myself ✓
To celebrate my graduation, I scheduled a party for myself and the other graduates.
(8)
LESSON 2.4 BETWEEN / AMONG
Do you recall the tip from comparison about "BETWEEN" and "AMONG"?
Always use "me" not "I". The same rule applies in these cases. When you see
the words between and among use the OBJECTIVE form of the pronoun. See
table below.
SUBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE
I Me
He Him
She Her
We Us
EXAMPLE
Between Mary and I X Between Mary and me ✓
Among Stacy, Richard, and she X Among Stacy, Richard, and her ✓
DIRECTIONS: Using the strategies you learned on pages 42-44, circle the correct pronoun.
Exercise One: EXAMPLE: I am better at tennis than (her /she) and thus I win every game.
1. Despite our differences, Yolanda and (I/me) must work together on this science project.
2. No one is sorrier than ( 1 / me) that you lost your dog.
3. Gertrude was trying to provoke me the whole night, but I had to remind (me / myself) not to dignify
her antics with a response.
4. After the shopping spree, we all agreed that no one had spent more than ( she/her ).
5. Did Dad bring any exotic souvenirs home for Keshav and (I/me )?
6. (We / Us) and the rest of our posse decided that, in order to assert our territory on the beach, we
would need to bring a blanket and multiple chairs.
7. The man making the broccoli and cheddar soup accidentally spilled it all over my Yorkshire Terrier
and (I/me).
8. (He and I / Him and me ) work well together.
9. Even though I wore my best dress and my most dramatic hairdo, none of the boys at the event
would dance with (I/me).
10. Over the course of 28 years, Kelly, Linda, and ( he / him ) cultivated a bountiful pumpkin patch.
11. The other Civil War reenactors and ( she/her ) got into a dispute with the municipal parks
department about the use of real cannons.
12. Since we were provided with a pamphlet about the mating habits of apes, it was easy for ( she and
I / her and me) to spot indications of romance at the gorilla exhibit.
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These are examples of questions that you will see on the SAT
Exercise Two: concerning Subject-Pronoun and Pronoun Case. Follow the
directions below.
Questions 1-7 are based on the 1-
following passage. A) NO CHANGE
Pronoun Errors B) their
C) it's
By working together, a hardy group of
D) the
pet enthusiasts has created a community
organization with the potential to do an
enormous amount of good. In 2007, 2-
People Pick-Me-Up began when two A) NO CHANGE
recent college graduates began bringing B) they're regular visits
1 our pets-rabbits, parakeets, and a C) its regular visits
cheerful golden retriever to a local nursing D) it's regular visits
home. The idea of using "visiting pets" to
comfort others quickly caught on. Now, 3_
People Pick- Me-Up has over twenty A) NO CHANGE
members and is recognized in a large B) there
number of local newspapers. The group's
C) its
activities include 2 their regular visits to
D) our
nursing homes and veterans' hospitals as
well as occasional sessions at camps for
children from troubled families. 4-
The successes of People Pick-Me-Up A) NO CHANGE
can be explained by 3 their dedication to B) we
the immediate community in this case, a C) he
few counties in suburban Connecticut. D) they
"We have had plenty of opportunities to
expand, but 4 one would rather build 5-
stronger connections to the people we A) NO CHANGE
know," says Ron MacKinner, one of the B) it's
two People Pick-Me-Up founding
C) their
members. However, MacKinner doesn't
D) his
see staying local as turning 5 its back on
people in need. He is confident that other
organizations will see the good work that
People Pick-Me-Up has done, and he has
the business savvy to effectively
(10)
These are examples of questions that you will see on the SAT
Exercise Two: concerning Subject-Pronoun and Pronoun Case. Follow the
directions below.
publicize even a single-area charity. As it
6-
turns out, MacKinner's background is in
A) NO CHANGE
communications and marketing, both of
B) they
which 5 him studied at the university
level.
C) he
Indeed, MacKinner's "stay close, inspire D) we
far" strategy has begun to show positive
results, as other pet therapy groups have 7-
begun to follow the approach set by A) NO CHANGE
MacKinner. One newly-established B) its
organization in rural Pennsylvania even C) it's
cites the good work done by People Pick- D) there
Me-Up as 7 their specific inspiration.
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Exercise Two:
1. Ocean currents that start in the warm 5. Since it opened in 1956, The Zelinski
waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans are restaurant has become famous for their
initially low in salt content but become more unusual fare and its elaborately decorated
saline as it flows northward into colder dining room.
regions. (A) No change
(A) No change (B) them
(B) it is flowing (C) it's
(C) they flow (D) its
(D) them flow
6. The codfish inhabits the shallow waters
2. In addition to having a theoretical of the ocean; they are especially plentiful in
understanding of disease, medical students such areas as the North American
must have experience in treating patients if continental shelf, where the depth is rarely
he or she is to learn to diagnose illnesses greater than 200 or 300 feet.
accurately. (A) No change
(A) No change (B) them are
(B) them are (C) it is
(C) they are (D) its
(D) each are
7. Though I am acquainted with Mr.
3. Professor Corey, a man genuinely Bartholomew and have long known of his
interested in others ideas, told the students in interest in the painting that he has gone to
his government class that they were free to such lengths to obtain it astonishes me.
voice all of their opinions, no matter how (A) No change
controversial it was. (B) them astonishes me
(A) No change (C) it astonishes I
(B) it is (D) them astonishes I
(C) its was
(D) they were 8. My mother always gave my sister and I
the same treats when we were little so that
[Link] United States Supreme Court is the neither of us would be jealous of the other.
final interpreter of the constitution, and they (A) No change
have the power to declare a state law (B) my sister and me
unconstitutional. (C) my sister and they
(A) No change (D) my sister and my
(B) it has
(C) them have
(D) those have
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9. Everyone who attends a concert at the 14. The Governor asked the attorney to head
sports arena Knows that they will be the committee because he was convinced
searched for drugs before entering. that the committee needed to start work
(A) No change immediately.
(B) they are (A) No change
(C) he or she will be (B) because he is
(D) you will be (C) because the attorney was
(D)because of them
10. Most gardeners like to cultivate these
kind of flowers in the early spring. 15. As an incentive to attend the local college,
(A) No change our father told my brother and I that we could
(B) these kind of flower use his company car for transportation.
(C) those kind of flower (A) No change
(D) this kind of flowers (B) my brother and me
(C) both my brother and I
11. Its my opinion that learning the correct (D) we
pronunciation should precede attempt to learn
the correct spelling of a word. 16. All the aspiring young writers submitted
(A) No change their stories, each hoping that they would win
(B) It's first prize.
(C) Those are (A) No change
(D) They are (B) their
(C) them
12. Every typist in the office except she was (D) he or she
out sick at least one day during the past
month. 17. Since we first started high school, there
(A) No change has been great competition for grades
(B) except her between him and I.
(C) but not her (A) No change
(D) apart from she (B) between he and I
(C) between him and me
13. I appreciate you offering to help me with (D) between he and me
my research project, but the honor system
prevents students from giving and receiving 18. The man who Mexican authorities believe
assistance. to be the country's number I drug trafficker
(A) No change has been arrested in a Pacific resort area.
(B) yours (A) No change
(C) your (B) whose
(D) you are (C) whom
(D) which
(13)
Vocab words
Callous Cruelly insensitive
Capacity Ability
Caustic 1. Bitter and sarcastic 2. Acidic
Catalyst Something that triggers an event
Cerebral Intellectual
Charismatic Charming
Circumscribe Restrict, limit
Circumvent Overcome an obstacle
Cite 1. Quote as evidence 2. Mention as an example
Combustible able to catch fire easily
Compatible 1. Able to co-exist peacefully, well-suited 2. Consistent
Compile Assemble, collect
Comply Go along with rules
Comprehensive Thorough
Conducive Favorable to
Congenial Pleasant
Conscientious Careful, hardworking
Constraint Restriction, limitation
Consummate 1. Complete, make perfect (v) 2. Highly skilled (adj)
Contemporary Living or occurring at the time
Contemptuous Scornful, disrespectful
Contingency 1. Possibility 2. Unforeseen event
Criterion Standard by which things are judged or measured
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NOTE
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01029690243
URT Hermes Council
hermescouncilup@[Link]
URT Hermes Council
THANK YOU
Good luck, students
We wish you success