✘ Mia, a grade 11 student, loves reading novels,
watching Korean drama series, and to eat pasta.
✓ Mia, a grade 11 student, loves reading novels,
watching Korean drama series, and eating pasta.
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Motive Question
✘ To avoid having an “odd one out” or “error” in
sentences, what is the best thing we should
consider in putting words together?
Parallel Structure
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PARALLEL PARALLEL
➢ It is an adjective which means
STRUCTURE
➢ It is when words, phrases, or
being everywhere equidistant. clauses in a sentence have the
same grammatical structure.
➢ It is extremely useful in writing
x “Simple is beauty.” because it provides balance and
clarity to one’s writing.
➢ It provides pattern or rhythm that
“Simplicity is beauty.” increases the readability of one’s
writing.
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Which one has a faulty parallel structure?
x Kimmy is a young lady who loves reading, hiking, and to
exercise.
Kimmy is a young lady who loves reading, hiking, and
exercising.
Kimmy is a young lady who loves to read, hike, and exercise.
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Rules to remember
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#1 Remember!
✘ When a series is composed of verbs or verbal, do not mix forms or tenses.
Verbs Tenses Verbals
Present Gerunds- words ending in -ing
Past Infinitives- to + base of the verb
Past participle Participles- present and past participle
looked searches telling To tell
gained keeps Listening listening
remindedmolding consists to bake To bake
chasing
written hires believed drinking To drink
saying
frying dreaming
breathing to think
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Examples
Faulty: Reading books, to paint portraits, and listening to music
are my leisure activities.
Correct Parallel Structure:
✓ Reading books, painting portraits, and listening to music are my
leisure activities.
Faulty: The victim runs to the police station and asked for help.
Correct Parallel Structure:
✓ The victim ran to the police station and asked for help.
✓ The victim runs to the police station and asks for help.
7
Correct me If I’m Wrong..
Faulty: Kara watched a movie, cleaned her apartment, and was
making lunch.
Correct Parallel Structure:
✓ Kara watched a movie, cleaned her apartment, and made lunch.
Faulty: Claire has agreed to decorate the hall, sew a Santa suit and
to bake gingerbread cookies.
Correct Parallel Structure:
✓ Claire has agreed to decorate the hall, to sew a Santa suit, and
to bake ginger bread cookies.
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#2
Parallel words
Remember!
On the word level, a noun should be grouped with other nouns, an
adjective with other adjectives, and so on.
Faulty: The company is looking for a candidate who is friendly,
organized, meticulous, and is an early bird.
Correct Parallel Structure:
✓ The company is looking for a candidate who is friendly,
organized, meticulous, and 9punctual.
Example
Faulty: My ideal presidential candidate is an eloquent
speaker, a good lawyer, and is excellent in writing.
Correct Parallel Structure:
✓ My ideal presidential candidate is an eloquent speaker,
a good lawyer, and an excellent writer.
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Correct me If I’m wrong..
Joey is studying music, dance, and how to make art.
Correct Parallel Structure:
✓ Joey is studying music, dance, and art.
The speech of the President was salient and made to inspire.
Correct Parallel Structure:
✓ The speech of the President was salient and inspirational.
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Seatwork/written work #2
Read each sentence carefully
and correct its parallel
structure by rewriting the
sentence.
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[Link] key to a healthy life is to eat right, to
exercise daily, and having enough sleep.
2. Mother Teresa believes in goodness, fought
for the poor, and spent her life to please God.
3. Initial trials showed that exposure to harmful
chemicals resulted to memory problems,
intermittent dizziness, and prevents sleep.
4. The interview was done quickly, accurately,
and in a smooth pace.
5. The speech of the President was salient and
made to inspire. 13