Questions tagged [parallelism]
Parallelism is about balancing similar words, phrases, or clauses identified by similarity in its grammatical structure. The application of parallelism in sentence construction can sometimes improve writing style, clearness, and readability.
183
questions
-1
votes
0answers
26 views
Repeated verb in one sentence. What to leave out and what not
I am trying to formulate a simple sentence which specifies publication agreement as follows:
A is published in arrangement with and licensed by B through C.
A is published in arrangement with and is ...
-1
votes
0answers
32 views
“I want to retire to a place where I can relax and WHERE the taxes are low” Is the second 'where' necessary?
Can I write it this way instead? ==>
"I want to retire to a place where I can relax and the taxes are low"
If No, Why not?
Thanks
0
votes
2answers
82 views
Is the second “to” needed here? “I am going to listen and (to) read” [duplicate]
Which one is correct? Can I use both?
"I am going to listen and read."
"I am going to listen and to read."
1
vote
1answer
72 views
What to call the plane between Background and Foreground?
In a 2½-dimensional design system, where x and y are planar coordinates, but z is only a signed (±) stacking index, what do you call the main or basic plane (or layer or level or ground) ...
0
votes
1answer
47 views
“post offices can provide many of the same services OF banks”
The diverse array of successful portal banking systems around the world shows that post offices can provide many of the same services of banks.
This sentence is incorrect, and "of banks" should be ...
1
vote
1answer
26 views
Parallel structure with a negative
Would this sentence follow the rules of parallel structure?
In order to improve your country, you should take care of the environment, avoid throwing litter, help society, and don't use plastic.
I ...
0
votes
3answers
64 views
Parallelism with “have” and “have been” sounds wrong
I came across a sentence like this:
(A) Many have been buggy or poor experiences.
It sounds wrong and I would have written that like this:
(B) Many have been buggy or have poor experiences.
...
0
votes
2answers
60 views
Verb Parallelism
The fossils preserved in the rock strata of the Grand Canyon have accumulated for a billion years and provide an invaluable geologic record.
I wonder why “provide” is not “provided”. I think “provide”...
1
vote
1answer
83 views
How should an imperative sentence with multiple verb phrases and differing prepositions be worded?
The following are two version of a tagline.
Ask questions and share your unique knowledge about trains with the hobbyist community.
and
Ask questions about and share your unique knowledge on ...
1
vote
0answers
22 views
What determines how much of a repetition can be omitted for shortening?
Given two sentences with the same subject, we can merge them into one.
The rooftop designs differ in their ability to keep buildings cool.
The rooftop designs differ in their ability to capture ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Helps with practice question
Identify the underlined error in the following excerpt:
More than 20 ceiling fan manufacturers, the American Lighting Association (ALA), and leading energy conservation groups invites everyone to ...
1
vote
0answers
29 views
“We will not only go to Mars but also to Jupiter.” is grammatically correct? And some other questions
Is this grammatically correct?
"We will not only go to Mars but also to Jupiter."
How about
"We will go not only to Mars but also to Jupiter."
and
"We will go to not only ...
1
vote
0answers
39 views
What is the literary device to describe isocolons with direct opposites?
In the poem 'We Shall Come No More' in Tawny Island by Verra Brittain, there is a strong parallelism between the 1st and 2nd stanza, even going as far as the same letter count. However the words are ...
6
votes
2answers
15k views
similar to or similarly to
Using the example "to obtain similar to or similarly to," the latter sounds very strange even though similarly is definitely being used as an adverb. The sentence: "The fragments were obtained similar ...
2
votes
1answer
64 views
Faulty Parallelism3: to 'while' or not to 'while'
The problem sentence:
I have always liked thinking through complicated problems to find
creative solutions, be they in a mathematics class or while
helping a friend.
I wrote this sentence for ...
0
votes
1answer
196 views
is “nor” applied into “were” and “was” in this sentence? “Nor were these practices confined to the decadent phases, was utterly subservient to style.”
now I'm confusing about nor with "were" and "was" in parallel structure in sentence.
full sentence is that
Nor were these practices confined, as some scholars insist, to the later and supposedly ...
0
votes
1answer
180 views
regarding parallel structure
Pluripotent genes are activated in injured tissue cells and play important role in regeneration.
In the above sentence, should "play" be changed to "played" for parallel construction. Pls help.
1
vote
2answers
116 views
Can there be a comma between the adverb and the noun of the last member of a series?
I saw a practice SAT question on Khan Academy:
Certified Executive Chef Hilary DeMane has prepared confections for celebrities, governors, and even Ronald Reagan.
The correct answer is filled in ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
Question about using “a” in sentence [closed]
I don’t even know how to accurately ask this question, but I need to know which of the following is correct:
Tom Smith is an Arizona native and partner at the Law Offices of Smith & Smith.
Or ...
-1
votes
1answer
41 views
Parallelism “was able to” - Is this sentence correct?
Is the following sentence correct?
"He was always able to understand complex situations immediately and
to find good solutions right away."
To me it sounds odd and should be:
"He was always ...
-1
votes
3answers
911 views
“Everyone is fine and having fun” or “Everyone is fine and is having fun.”
While both sentences are probably grammatical, I’m wondering which one is preferable. To me, the first sentence sounds awkward, but the second sentence may have an unnecessary is. Basing your answers ...
5
votes
1answer
156 views
A question about one point of Donald Trump’s speech at Helsinki
At his recent Helsinki summit, while reading from a prepared, written speech, Donald Trump said during his opening remarks and then later tweeted, quoting himself:
I would rather take a political ...
0
votes
2answers
160 views
Is “if you need help or having trouble” correct?
Well, I have been struggling with this for a while now. My friend wrote a piece of documentation for his software, in which he included this sentence:
This repository contains [software name] API ...
0
votes
3answers
48 views
a parallelism issue - the most interesting garment
Is there a parallelism issue with the following sentence?
Prizes will be given to the best dressed, the worst dressed, and the most “interesting” garment.
Is it natural to interpret "the most ...
1
vote
1answer
159 views
“I spilled water on the table and [the] floor”
Compare the sentences:
I spilled water on the floor.
I spilled water on the table and floor.
I spilled water on the table and the chair.
Is the missing the before floor in the second ...
2
votes
1answer
111 views
Parallelism of as…as
For these two sentences, why do we need to use "he was" and "it is"? What two things are being compared in these sentences?
Henry was almost as famous a philosopher as he was a poet.
It is as ...
1
vote
1answer
61 views
Parallelism Check
He believed that the judge would ask him to present the case, the jury would listen to his speech, and questions would be raised by the prosecutor.
He believed that the judge would ask him to present ...
1
vote
1answer
121 views
“to make sure” parallelism and comma
Is the first comma needed in the sentence "To make sure that the audit will go smoothly, and you will avoid future questions from auditors, please ..."?
My thinking is that although we normally put a ...
1
vote
1answer
95 views
Past and present tense can use in one sentence? [closed]
If I describe the people that I know in the past are special and still friends now, can I write it like this:
Every person that I meet is unique. I treasure the people that I have met, and trust is ...
4
votes
1answer
9k views
All vs everything
Are "everything" and "all" interchangeable in these two cases? I'm having a hard time choosing between them.
1) You must tell me all/everything about your holiday.
2)I am having a terrible day. All/...
4
votes
3answers
126 views
What is the scope of “more” when making a list of comparatives?
Lets assume I have an object X of which I want to say (1) it's more important than Y and (2) it's smaller than Y (Y is left implicit in the examples.) If I say X is more important before saying X is ...
1
vote
3answers
84 views
I have always—and will always—do X? or done X?
(This has gotta be a duplicate, but I didn't quite manage to find anything...)
Is either of the following correct? If so, what is the general rule that makes the other one wrong?
I have always—...
0
votes
2answers
55 views
What can I do to make this sentence perfectly parallel?
In editing the following sentence, I would like to use perfect parallel construction for the latter part of the sentence — that is, ideally I’d like to get rid of "in." But that would make the ...
0
votes
1answer
411 views
Passive voice sentence in “The New Colossus” excerpt
I'm in 10th grade English, and for my assignment I have to highlight three sentences in this excerpt in The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus.
... "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses ...
-1
votes
1answer
49 views
Parallel struture
"Studying abroad can be an educational experience for foreign
students. It may broaden their horizons. In addition, such an
experience can expand their knowledge of the world, as a result of
...
0
votes
1answer
287 views
Articles in the “and” structure
In terms of motorcycle, the forecast sales is expected to experience an ascending trend from 2006 to 2017, with a significant surge of approximately 75k in the fist two years and ______ continuous ...
1
vote
0answers
375 views
Parallel adjective usage
Is the sentence:
He is, or at the very least, is among, the tallest in our school.
grammatically correct?
Note that (I believe) that this parallelly states that "either he is the tallest [person] ...
0
votes
1answer
459 views
grammatically correct or double negative?
If I write "I have absolutely nothing to do with him and never will." is that clear and grammatically correct in meaning that I will never have anything to do with him? Could it be interpreted/...
2
votes
1answer
69 views
What is the term for deliberately forcing a not-quite-grammatical parallelism?
There is a fairly common figure of speech where one deliberately imposes a parallel structure that is not quite grammatical. For instance, consider the question "Is A less, equal, or greater than B?" ...
0
votes
1answer
242 views
“I was struggling to establish and [to] follow” [closed]
I am learning English. I found this sentence in a book.
At the time, I was struggling to establish myself as a writer and to follow my path...
Is it grammatically correct to use the to-infinitive ...
-2
votes
2answers
396 views
Is this correct? “…the user has either finished dragging or dragged out of the upload modal an item”
Creates an action to indicate that the user has either finished dragging or dragged out of the upload modal an item.
My intent is for "an item" to serve as object for both 'dragging' and 'dragged.' ...
2
votes
1answer
647 views
Parallelism in “whether… or not” sentence
We have an exercise on parallelism involving rewriting sentences correctly; there's this one sentence I'm unsure as how to rewrite.
Mother cannot decide whether she will allow Cecil to attend the ...
5
votes
3answers
867 views
When Correlative Conjunctions are NOT parallel
Normally, the rule for correlative conjunctions is that the two elements being combined must be parallel in structure. But I believe there are cases this rule is broken, but I'm not sure why they're ...
0
votes
1answer
256 views
Parallel negative verbs in Present Perfect
Which one is correct?
"I have not done(any verb1) or done(any verb2) something"
"I have not done(any verb1) or have not done(any verb2) something"
"I have not done(any verb1) or not done(any verb2) ...
-1
votes
2answers
109 views
“For detailed review and comparison ”
I would be so grateful if you can let me know which of the following sentences is correct:
1: "For a detailed review of the most related works and a comparison between them "
2: "For detailed review ...
1
vote
1answer
7k views
'both in terms of' or 'in terms of both'?
Truffles are among the world’s most valuable commodities, in terms of both economic and ecological worth.
Truffles are among the world’s most valuable commodities, both in terms of economic and ...
2
votes
1answer
677 views
When using a verb that has a noun form with a gerund, do you use the gerund or the noun?
This is the sentence in question:
The last time he slept in a room by himself must have been that melancholy week between Stave’s passing and my arriving.
Now, in the above sentence, the ...
1
vote
2answers
207 views
Parallelism Indicators
Consider the following two sentences which use Parallelism:
(A) "He manages to get in and arranges the books"
(B) "He manages to get in and arrange the books"
I feel both are correct and the ...
0
votes
1answer
429 views
Comma usage in parallel structure without conjunctions?
I think it's valid to omit the conjunction in a parallel clause for effect, e.g.:
There can be no absolution, no forgiveness.
But is this still a valid variant of parallelism, or does the later ...
1
vote
3answers
494 views
When should I add “to” before an infinitive in a parallelism sentence?
Here is a sentence I wrote:
All he can do, as it turns out, is to stay by her side, take her to wherever he goes and hope someday she will wake up.
I added to ahead of take... in the first place, ...
