When you list two or more things in a sequence, they must be in EXACTLY the same grammatical format, or they are NOT PARALLEL.
Wrong: I took the job for the extra money and to increase my status.
If you’re listing even two things in a sentence, they need to be identically formatted.
Correct: I took the job for the extra money and for the improved status
Important Rule: When you’re listing things out or comparing them, make sure the verbiage used to describe them is as repetitive as possible.
Wrong: I like Melissa because she seems so sweet and for her beautiful eyes.
Correct: I like Melissa because she seems so sweet and because she has such beautiful eyes.
Another Rule: When making lists of any kind (pretty much any time you use the word ‘and’), try to make your sentences as parallel as possible.
Wrong: I like you because you’re a great guy and good at pool.
Correct: I like you because you’re a great guy and because you’re good at pool.
If this sounds unnatural, it’s because people rarely speak like this anymore. But, it is grammatically correct.
So far, we’ve looked at parallel structure within a single sentence. The ACT, however, may also test your ability to recognize and create parallel structure when more than one sentence is involved. Although these questions may initially seem very complicated, they can actually be relatively simple to answer if you know what information to focus on.
How do we know that parts of a sentence need to be parallel to each other? Often, we can use Parallel Markers - words that link or contrast items and that force those items to be parallel.
Wrong: The college experience is not only an exciting time to meet new people and also a stressful one because of the level of independence required.
Correct: The college experience is not only an exciting time to meet new people but also a stressful one because of the level of independence required.
Pair errors like the one above are freebies on the ACT as long as you remember to check for them.
As covered earlier in this chapter, just remember that whenever you have a paired construction, the two things being paired should be as parallel as possible Parallel Elements.
Comparisons are a form of parallelism that deserves special attention. As the name indicates, comparisons compare two parts of the sentence.
To spot comparisons, you must first learn certain signal words or phrases. Once you find a comparison, identify the two parts of the sentence that are being compared to each other.
Two general types of comparison errors can arise:
When directly comparing two terms, those terms need to be parallel to each other. Comparisons have to be parallel. That is, they must compare similar things.
Wrong: Frank’s build, LIKE his brother, is broad and muscular.
What two things are being compared? As written, the sentence is comparing Frank’s build directly to his brother, not his brother’s build. This is not a logical comparison. In order to correct this error, we need to change the comparison.
Correct: Frank’s build, LIKE his brother’s, is broad and muscular.
Let’s look at a harder EXAMPLE: Beethoven’s music, which broke a number of established rules with its structure and melodic form, is considered more revolutionary than Bach.
First, let’s find the comparison signal: MORE revolutionary THAN....
Now we look for the two things being compared. It is often easier to find the second thing, which follows the comparison signal: More revolutionary than Bach. So, what is more revolutionary than Bach?
The subject of the sentence: Beethoven’s music. This comparison is not parallel.
Correct: Beethoven’s music, which broke a number of established rules with its structure and melodic form, is considered MORE revolutionary THAN BACH’S.
Note again that we do not have to repeat the word music, as long as we have written Bach’s.
This type of error appears when possessive nouns or phrases (e.g. “the _ of _”) are in play.
Wrong: Which is larger, the population of New York or Los Angeles?
This sentence compares “the population of New York” with the entire city “Los Angeles.” We can fix this error by adding “the population of” before “Los Angeles,” or revising the sentence so that the information specifying population size appears before the comparison.
Correct: Which is larger, the population of New York or that of Los Angeles?
Correct: Which is larger, the population of New York or the population of Los Angeles?
Let’s try a more complex EXAMPLE:
Wrong: Wandering around the furniture store, she decided that while burgundy and taupe would work well in her living room, the bright aquamarine lampshade would probably hog the spotlight.
This complex comparison involves the colors “burgundy” and “taupe” and “the bright aquamarine lampshade,” a tangible item. To fix this sentence, we need to either adjust “the bright aquamarine lampshade” to refer to just a color (e.g. “bright aquamarine”) or change “burgundy” and “taupe” so that they specify tangible items (e.g. “the burgundy drapes” & “the taupe carpet”).
Correct: Wandering around the furniture store, she decided that while burgundy and taupe would work well in her living room, bright aquamarine would probably hog the spotlight.
A pronoun can often be used as a substitute for a noun in a sentence. Anytime a pronoun is used in a passage, that pronoun must have a clear antecedent; that is, it must directly connect to a noun or pronoun that was mentioned before it.
The ACT English section usually tests 4-5 questions on subject-verb agreement on every test. Here we tell you all you need to know about subject-verb agreements on the ACT.
The SAT Writing and Language Test repeatedly tests the proper usage of verb tenses. Knowing when to use different verb tenses and forms will be extremely beneficial to you on this part of the test.
The SAT Writing and Language Test is a passage-based test. There are four multi-paragraph passages and 44 questions to go with them. The makers of the SAT break this test down into two main sections: Usage and Mechanics and Rhetorical Skills.
Though sentence structures are rarely tested on the SAT, you will need to understand them to accurately answer comma-based questions.
Modifiers are words, phrases or clauses used to describe something in a sentence. They are often tested on the SAT in the form of comma usage.
Even though comma usage is the most prominent punctuation rule tested on the ACT, other punctuation such as semicolons, colons, dashes, and apostrophes are frequently tested as well.
The comma is widely used in writing and is the most commonly tested concept on the SAT Writing and Language Test. Therefore, it’s extremely important to understand how to correctly use commas and when to avoid them.
There are many pesky little grammar rules that you’ll be tested on as part of the SAT. Therefore, it’s important to not just know these grammar rules, but also how test questions are structured .
Parallelism is a very strange concept. Unlike commas, semicolons, pronouns, tenses, etc., parallelism isn’t applied to just a single area of grammar – it spans all aspects of the English language.