Parallelism (grammar)

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In grammar, parallelism is a balance of two or more similar words, phrases, or clauses. The application of parallelism in sentence construction improves writing style and readability. Parallelism may also be known as parallel structure or parallel construction. See also parallelism (rhetoric).

Examples

Compare the following examples:

Lacking parallelism: She likes cooking, jogging, and to read.
Parallel: She likes cooking, jogging, and reading.

In the above example, the first sentence has two gerunds and one infinitive. To make it parallel, the sentence was rewritten with three gerunds instead.

Lacking parallelism: The dog ran across the yard, jumped over the fence, and down the alley he sprinted.
Parallel: The dog ran across the yard, jumped over the fence, and sprinted down the alley.

Lacking parallelism: Corey admires people with integrity and who have character.
Parallel: Corey admires people who have integrity and who have character.
Parallel: Corey admires people who have integrity and character.