ParallelismAudrey French

Milaca High School 11th grade

State standardsGrades 11-12 students

• 11.7.3.3

• 11.7.4.4

• 11.7.5.5

• 11.7.10.10

"One arrives at style only with atrocious effort, with fanatical and devoted stubbornness." Gustave Flaubert

(Gustave Flaubert)

• Parallel structure, fully understood and out to use, can bring about such a startling change in composition that student writers sometime refer to it as “instant style”

Definition of parallelismThe state of being parallel or of corresponding in some way.The use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc.

• The definition is harder to understand than is parallelism structure itself. The sensible thing to do is to ignore the definition for the time being and to learn parallel structure the way you learned to talk - by listening to it.

Common Denominator

• The repetition of some element in a sentence, a repetition of structure

• ....a who clause, infinitive phrase, prepositional phrase, noun clause, or if clause.......

“who” clause

• He was the kind of man who knew what he wanted, who intended to get it, and who allowed nothing to stand in his way

“to” infinitive phrase

• She wanted to walk out, to get in the car and drive forever, to leave and never come back.

prepositional phrase

• They went to London, to Paris, to Rome.

“ that” noun clause

• He felt that Mary had changed, that she had moved into another world, that she had left him behind.

“ if ” clause

• If we are to survive, if we are to have even the hope of surviving, we must end the nuclear race.

• Whenever a sentence contains two or more similar elements, these elements must be kept parallel.

• series of nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs

• She liked ball games, hikes, and going to picnics

• She liked ball games, hikes, and picnics.

Adjectives

• He was lazy, good humored, likeable, and sort of a crook.

• He was lazy, good humored, and crooked.

Adverbs

• She walked steadily and in a big hurry.

• She walked steadily and swiftly.

Verbs

• She combed her hair, put on her coat, and her purse was checked.

• She combed her hair, put on her coat, and checked her purse.

Balanced sentence

• Various parts in the sentence balance themselves against each other - weight for weight.

• Pairs are usually balanced on either side of and, but, and or.

• She was an expert driver and could also repair cars.

• She was an expert driver and mechanic.

• He was intelligent but a boring boy.

• He was intelligent but boring.

• He was a brain but a bore.

• Her ambition was to act in movies and playing certain roles.

• Her ambition was to act in movies and to play certain roles.

Connectivesand, but, as well as

but

• The trip to town had been both difficult and a great expense.

• The trip to town had been both difficult and expensive.

• He wanted to pour all his effort into the job, to do it well, but keeping the time down as much as possible.

• He wanted to pour all his effort into the job, to do it well, but to do it quickly.

• He worked hard to maintain his high grades, but he yearned for popularity as well as being recognized for his good grades.

• He worked hard to maintain his high grades, but he yearned for popularity as well as academic success.

either..or

• Either I’m always in debt or in trouble.

• Either I’m always in debt or I’m in trouble.

• I’m always either in debt or in trouble.

neither ...nor

• He is the kind of dog that will neither mind his mistress nor his master.

• He is the kind of dog that will mind neither his mistress nor his master.

not only.....but also

• They hoped to go not only to London but also do some sightseeing in Paris.

• They hoped to go not only to London but also to Paris.

first/ second/ third

• repeat the first word after first, second, and third

• After he entered college he realized clearly, first, that he should have worked harder in high school; second, that he would have to work hard now to keep up; and third, that he could succeed only by learning self-discipline.

•"Style is not something applied. It is something that permeates. It is of the nature of that in which it is found, whether the poem, the manner of a god, the bearing of a man. It is not a dress."(Wallace Stevens)

• She planned a trip to the country, a visit with her grandmother, and taking long hikes with her cousin.

• The old man was gentle, kind, and gave away a lot of money to the poor.

• She put the model airplane together neatly, accurately, and with a great deal of skill.

• The girl wiped the windshield, cleaned off the dirty headlights, polished the chrome trim, and even the hubcaps were checked.

• He hoped either to be elected president of his class or make the highest grade.

• She was intelligent as well as having a lot of friends.

• He had to have the suit both altered and to have it cleaned.

• The thing she most looked forward to was a hot meal and having a hot bath.

• He enjoyed going to the movies as well as trips to the theater.

• Either the boys disliked or ignored him.

• Their purpose was not only to take special courses in science but in art.

• The committee is not only working hard to preserve historical landmarks but is also interested in developing a local museum.

• They believe that a museum will promote greater interest in local history, that it will enrich the lives of school children in the community, and will become a major tourist attraction.

• Many students believe that to be popular is happiness.

• Study develops the mind, exercise develops the body, and understanding is developed by experience.

• She made it clear, first, that she had no faith in the project; second, that she would not support it; and that third, she would advise her friends against it.

• They arrived in town by bus, by train, by plane, and even walking.

• Bergman, Carol Ann., and J. A. Senn. Heath Grammar and Composition: With a Process Approach to Writing. 5th ed. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1988. Print. 11th Grade.

• "Welcome to the Purdue OWL." Purdue OWL. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 July 2013. https://owl.english.purdue.edu