LESSON 10

Parallelism & Comparisons

When’s the last time you thought about the word “parallel” outside of math class? Maybe
never, so this could be a first for you!

In math class, “parallel” lines could be described as lines that are going exactly the same
direction as one another. They’ll never bump in to each other, because they’re in perfect
alignment.

Believe it or not, grammar has “parallel” situations, just like math – and the concept is similar.

In math you must have at least two lines for them to be parallel (a single line, by itself, isn’t
really parallel to anything, is it?). However, you don’t have to stop with two lines; you can have
as many different parallel lines as you want, as long as they’re all going in exactly the same
direction.

The same holds true in grammar. “Parallelism” issues come up in sentences involving lists or
comparisons of two or more things.

There are three main situations when Parallelism will happen:

1) In a simple list (like a grocery list).

2) Between two or more longer phrases.
3) Within a comparison.

Parallelism Type #1 is the simplest style, so let’s look at it first…

Parallelism Type #1: “Grocery Lists”

One extremely common example of Parallelism would be a list, such as the following:

Example of a good parallel list:

“I went to the store for eggs, milk, and cheese.”

The list doesn’t have to actually be a grocery list, but it’s one of the easiest examples to
remember (a non-grocery list example could be “I like running, jumping, and swimming”).

We have three items in this grocery list, all of which are nouns (reviewing your Parts of Speech
from Prelesson A is very helpful when studying Parallelism). That’s good; the list follows proper
parallel structure because all three items in the list are the same Parts of Speech. In our math

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analogy, three nouns would be like three lines that all go the same direction – they are parallel
and don’t bump into each other, which is good.

Where we’d have a Parallelism problem would be if we mixed and matched nouns and some
other parts of speech in our list, like so:

Parallelism Mistake Version:

“I went to the store for eggs, milk, and to buy cheese.”

Now one of our grocery list items has changed direction, grammatically speaking – the noun
“cheese” has changed into “to buy cheese,” a phrase which includes a verb. This breaks the
pattern and commits a Parallelism error. All items in a list of two or more things must be the
same Parts of Speech in the same forms.

When it comes to making a list or comparison of two or more items, nouns match only with
other nouns. Verbs match only with other verbs of the same form. Words ending in “-ing”
match only with other “-ing” words (running, jumping, swimming.) None of these categories
can be mixed and matched within the same list or comparison, or it will cause a Parallelism
error.

Here are some BAD examples of grocery lists that break parallel form:

“I went to the store for eggs, milk, and buying cheese.”

“I went to the store for eggs, to buy milk, and bought cheese.”
“I went to the store for buying eggs, to get milk, and cheese.”
“I went to the store and bought eggs, was getting milk, and cheese.”

Here are some GOOD examples of grocery lists that follow parallel form:

“I went to the store for eggs, milk, and cheese.” (Three nouns)
“I went to the store to buy eggs, to find milk, and to sample cheese.” (All three
items follow the same pattern: “to [verb] [noun]”

Let’s look at an example from the Pretest:

The bass guitar differs from standard guitars in that the bass has fewer
strings, a longer neck, and the ability to produce lower notes.

(A) [NO CHANGE]

(B) has fewer strings, a longer neck, and can produce lower notes.
(C) having fewer strings, a longer neck, and can produce notes more low.
(D) with lower strings, a longer neck, and lower notes.

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First, take a look at Choice B and notice the Parallelism mistake: The bass has a list with three
items in it: “fewer strings” (a noun), “a longer neck” (a noun), and “can produce lower notes”
(“can produce” is a verb!)

We need the third item in this list to be another noun so that the whole list is nice and parallel.

Here’s another way to look at this error - break the list in Choice B down into three traits of the
bass guitar and test one at a time to expose the mistake:

1) The bass has fewer strings. (check!)

2) The bass has a longer neck. (check!)
3) The bass has can produce lower notes. (uh… what?!?)

Choices B and C both contain the same Parallelism mistake. Choice D fixes the Parallelism
problem, but removes the main verb “has.” Now the subject “the bass” no longer has a main
verb attached to it, creating a Sentence Fragment (review Lesson 9 on Sentence Structure for
more details).

Choice A is correct; compared to Choice B, it changes the third item in the list, “can produce
lower notes,” to “the ability to produce lower notes.” “Ability” is a noun, so now the list is
made up of three nouns: “strings, neck, and ability,” and the law of Parallelism is satisfied.

Parallelism Type #2: Parallelism in Longer Phrases

This is the “big brother” of Type 1 Parallelism (“grocery lists”), and requires a little more care
and attention. Most people can easily recognize grocery-style lists of three simple items, but it’s
harder to notice a “list” that is made up of larger phrases, rather than individual words. Often,
these sentences will only have two items in the list.

Here’s an example of a Parallelism mistake of this type:

“Would you prefer to be eaten by an alligator or getting digested by a shark?”

The “list” in this sentence is only two items long: One, “to be eaten by an alligator,” or two,
“getting digested by a shark.”

The first step is to recognize the list of two items and identify the risk of a Parallelism mistake.
The second step is to investigate the parallel structure: are “to be eaten” and “getting digested”
the same Parts of Speech in the same form as each other? The answer is no: although both
items are both based on verbs, the forms of the verbs are different (“to be x-ed” vs “x-ing”).

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If you want to fix the Parallelism of this sentence, you have two options:

Option A) “to be eaten” and “to be digested”

Option B) “getting eaten” and “getting digested”

But we can’t mix and match “to be” and “getting” because they’re verbs in different forms.

This kind of Parallelism error can definitely be tricky to notice. The biggest giveaway for this
kind of mistake is to look for conjunctions such as “and,” “or,” and “not only.. but also.” When
listing or comparing things, the items you’re listing or comparing should be the same Parts of
Speech in the same forms.

It’s easier to see what I mean with some examples. The words in italics are the things that must
be parallel to each other, while the words in bold are the giveaway connecting/comparing
words:

Wrong: “Going to the rodeo is more fun than to go biking.” (“Going” and “to go” are
different verb forms)

Right: “Going to the rodeo is more fun than going biking.”

Wrong: “My brother likes not only his life in the dorm, but also to jump on his bunk
bed.” (“his life” is a noun, but “to jump” is a verb.)

Right: “My brother likes not only living in his dorm, but also jumping on his bunk bed.”

Here’s another example from the Pretest:

Beethoven’s music is known for being logical, yet emotive; challenging, yet
occasionally simple; and unique, yet derived from previous styles.

(A) [NO CHANGE]

(B) previous styles influenced it.
(C) was derived from previous styles.
(D) it was derived from previous styles.

Here we have a complex list of three things that Beethoven’s music is known for, with the first
two items following the pattern “adjective, yet other contrasting adjective.”

It’s the last item in the list that we’re particularly interested in, because it’s underlined. Does it
break the pattern?

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Well, let’s look at our options. Choice D breaks the Parallelism pattern with “it was derived”
(pronoun “it” + verb “was derived”). These new Parts of Speech are suddenly introduced into
the list, conflicting with the Parallelism pattern of “adjective, yet other contrasting adjective”
that was already established by the first two items of the list.

Similar Parallelism problems crop up in Choice B (which contains an unwelcome verb,

“influenced,” that doesn’t fit into the established pattern) and Choice C (which also contains a
verb, “derived”).

The best choice is to maintain the Parallelism pattern that’s already established - use Choice A,
which keeps the last part of the sentence as a short modifying phrase, “derived from previous
styles.”

A modifying phrase (like “occasionally simple,” or “derived from previous styles”) can act the
same way as a single adjective (like “emotive.”) This makes sense if you think about it, because
modifying phrases are like extended versions of single adjectives – both share the function of
adding description or detail to a target noun.

Be aware that “modifying phrase” is simply another name for “Parenthetical Clauses,” which
you can review in-depth with Lesson 9 on Sentence Structure!

Side Note: Using Semicolons in Lists

If you’re wondering about our unusual usage of semicolons in the previous example, did you
know that semicolons can be used to punctuate lists?

Usually we use commas to punctuate items in a list:

“I need eggs, milk, and chicken.”

However, for complex lists we can use semicolons as separators, as when you make a list of
cities:

“I’ve visited Austin, TX; Buffalo, NY; and Los Angeles, CA.”

See how we can use semicolons to punctuate complex lists - especially if the items in the list
already have commas within them? That’s the same technique we use in the “Beethoven”
Pretest example above.

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Parallelism Type #3 - Parallelism in Comparisons
When any sort of comparison is made between two or more items, those items must be
logically comparable and follow the rule of Parallelism.

It’s easy to demonstrate. Here are some items that CAN be properly compared:

Cats vs. Dogs (they are both animals)

Apples vs. Oranges (they are both fruit)

Firemen vs. Policemen (they are both professions/types of people)

Speed of a car vs. Speed of a motorcycle (they are both velocities)

Now, here are some items that could NOT be properly compared:

Cat hair vs. Dogs (we can’t compare “hair” to an animal like a “dog”; it’s not a
logical comparison to make; change it to cat hair vs. dog hair)

Apples vs. Orange Trees (one is the fruit, the other is the tree it grows on)

Firemen’s salaries vs. Policemen (one is money, the other is a person/profession)

A car vs. speed of a motorcycle (one is a vehicle, the other is a velocity)

The Parts of Speech must still match in your comparisons, as with all Parallelism situations.
Here is an example of what happens when this rule is broken within a comparison:

BAD Comparison / Parallelism: I like to run more than jumping.

The example above is wrong because it uses different verb forms and breaks Parallelism. You
could fix it either by pairing “running” and “jumping,” or by pairing “to run” with “to jump.” Just
no mixing-and-matching of forms.

One tricky Comparison variation. Does the following sentence sound wrong to you?

“The length of this train is more impressive than any bus I’ve ever seen.”

This may sound acceptable, but it is wrong. Take a look at exactly what’s being compared:

“Length of this train” vs. “any bus.” It’s illogical to compare a length to a vehicle. Fix the
sentence by changing to “the length of any bus.”

As you train yourself to notice this error, watch out for any kind of “comparing” word; this can
range from “more” to “bigger,” “wiser,” “louder,” etc.

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In fact, the single biggest giveaway that this Parallelism / Comparison error might be under
your nose is the word “than” - a word that always indicates a comparison.

Parallelism & Comparisons Quick Reference:

 In math, “parallel” lines are when two or more lines are all going the exact same direction
as each other - not bumping into one another.

 In grammar, words in a comparison or list of two or more items are all “going the exact
same direction” if they have the same Parts of Speech in the same forms as each other.

 Simply stated, the rule of Parallelism is: “In any list or comparison, all items must be the
same parts of speech in the same forms.”

 Comparisons must always be between items that are logically comparable to each other. In
addition, all Comparisons must follow the rule of Parallelism.

 Train yourself to watch out for lists and comparisons and double-check that they are
consistent all the way through.

 The most common giveaway for a comparison is the word “than.” Words that end in “-er”
(like “more” or “taller”) are another way to notice comparisons.

 The harder Parallelism questions may present two longer phrases linked by a conjunction.
Both phrases should be formed as similarly as possible to one another, using the same Parts
of Speech in the same forms.

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Let’s look at a Parallelism / Comparison example from the Pretest:

The use of robots on farms is growing rapidly, since it is often more cost-
effective than human farm workers.

(A) [NO CHANGE]

(B) more cost-effective than the use of
(C) more effective than using
(D) less costly than

Notice the words “more cost-effective than,” which indicate a comparison.

What two things are being compared to each other? “The use of robots” vs. “human farm
workers.” This is no good; use is not parallel to human worker.

The two ways to fix this would be to compare “use of robots” to “use of human workers,” or
compare the nouns “robots” to “workers,” but regardless of which you choose, it’s incorrect to
mix-and-match. Choice B is the only option that properly compares “the use of robots” to “the
use of human farm workers,” maintaining the law of Parallelism.

Choice C and D continue the original Parallelism / Comparison mistake by comparing “use” to
“using” in Choice C (different Verb Forms, see Lesson 2) or comparing “use” to “human
workers” as in the original mistake.

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Here’s a final Pretest question:

I think that most Japanese manufacturers’ cars get better mileage and are
more reliable than American automakers.

(A) [NO CHANGE]

(B) making cars in America
(C) American automakers’ cars
(D) what they make in America

Notice now how this sentence is trying to compare the cars from Japan to the auto makers
from America? You know by now that this breaks the rules of Parallelism & Comparison, so go
with Choice C, which correctly compares cars made by Japanese manufacturers to cars made by
American automakers.

Go forth and conquer in your Comparisons & Parallelism! It will earn you a ton of extra points on
your grammar sections. This is a really simple topic that you just have to train yourself to
become aware of - I promise you’ll see it often on the SAT & ACT tests, once you start actively
looking for it!

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