Parallel Structure | Education World - Free Printable

Explanation:
We are working with parallel structure, which means listing items in a sentence so that they all have the same grammatical form — for example, all verbs in the base form (infinitive without *to*), or all nouns, or all -ing words.

Let’s go step by step:

Part 1: Complete the lists using parallel structure

The example given is: *to talk, to run, and to sing* → all are infinitives (*to* + verb). So we need to add a word/phrase that matches that pattern.

1. *to listen, to speak, and _______*
→ All are infinitives. So we need another infinitive: e.g., to sing (but “to sing” is already used in the example — still okay as a new item). Better: to read or to write. Let’s pick to read.

2. *sleeping, rocking, and _______*
→ These are all -ing verbs (gerunds/participles). So next should be an -ing word: e.g., singing, dancing, laughing. Let’s use singing.

3. *teachers, parents, and _______*
→ These are all plural nouns. So add another plural noun: e.g., students, friends, coaches. Let’s use students.

4. *dog, cat, and _______*
→ All singular nouns (animals). So add another animal: e.g., bird, rabbit, hamster. Let’s use bird.

Now, Part 2: Rewrite each sentence to show parallel structure

We must make all items in the list the same form — usually all verbs in the same tense/form.

1. *Greg and Joe watched television, ate pizza, and went out to play football.*
→ “watched”, “ate”, “went” — all past tense verbs → ✔ already parallel.
But wait — the instruction says “rewrite each sentence to show parallel structure”, implying the original may *not* be parallel. Let’s double-check:
Yes — all are simple past tense verbs. So it’s already correct. However, sometimes teachers expect consistency in *verb type* (e.g., all action verbs — which they are), so this is fine. But maybe the issue is *“watched television”* is two words, while others are one-word verbs? No — parallel structure cares about *grammatical form*, not word count. So this sentence is already parallel. Still, to be safe, we can rewrite it exactly as is — or confirm it’s correct.

But let’s look at the others — many are *not* parallel.

2. *Amanda woke up, got dressed, and ran down the street to catch the bus.*
→ “woke up” (phrasal verb, past), “got dressed” (past), “ran” (past) — all past tense → seems parallel. However, “ran down the street to catch the bus” is longer, but still a past-tense verb phrase. Grammatically okay. But maybe the problem is inconsistency in phrasing? Actually, all are past-tense verb phrases — acceptable.

Wait — let’s look more carefully at #3:

3. *The old house’s windows were full of cracks, dirty, and broken.*
→ “full of cracks” (noun phrase), “dirty” (adjective), “broken” (adjective) — not parallel! To fix: make all adjectives or all noun phrases. Best: change to all adjectives:
→ *The old house’s windows were cracked, dirty, and broken.*
(Note: “cracked” = adjective meaning having cracks)

4. *The bicycle has large wheels, a seat that is big, and tall handlebars.*
→ “large wheels” (adj + noun), “a seat that is big” (noun clause), “tall handlebars” (adj + noun) — not parallel. Fix by making all adj + noun:
→ *The bicycle has large wheels, a big seat, and tall handlebars.*

5. *Make sure you stir the mixture, pour it into the pan, and are careful in smoothing it out.*
→ “stir”, “pour” (base verbs), but “are careful” is a verb + adjective phrase — not parallel. Should be all base verbs (imperative mood):
→ *Make sure you stir the mixture, pour it into the pan, and smooth it out carefully.*
Or better: *...stir the mixture, pour it into the pan, and smooth it out.*

6. *The peacock’s feathers were bright, shiny, and longer than most bird feathers.*
→ “bright”, “shiny” (adjectives), “longer” (comparative adjective) — technically all adjectives, but mixing positive and comparative forms breaks parallelism. Better to make all comparative (since “longer” sets the comparison):
→ *The peacock’s feathers were brighter, shinier, and longer than most bird feathers.*
Or keep all positive if no comparison is needed — but the sentence includes “than”, so comparison is intended. So use comparatives.

Let’s finalize each answer clearly:

Part 1 (fill-in):
1. to read
2. singing
3. students
4. bird

Part 2 (rewrite):
1. Greg and Joe watched television, ate pizza, and went out to play football. *(already parallel — no change needed)*
But since the instruction says “rewrite”, maybe they expect consistent verb form — it’s fine as is.

However, looking again at #1: “watched television” (verb + noun), “ate pizza” (verb + noun), “went out to play football” (verb + phrasal + infinitive). Some teachers consider this *not* fully parallel because of the extra infinitive. A stricter parallel version would be:
→ *Greg and Joe watched television, ate pizza, and played football.*
Yes — that’s better: all [verb] + [noun], simple past, no extra phrases.

So we’ll revise:
1. Greg and Joe watched television, ate pizza, and played football.

2. Amanda woke up, got dressed, and ran down the street to catch the bus.
→ Could simplify to: *Amanda woke up, got dressed, and caught the bus.*
But original includes “ran down the street to catch” — to keep meaning, better:
→ *Amanda woke up, got dressed, and ran down the street to catch the bus.* is actually acceptable. However, for strict parallelism of verb phrases, we want same structure. Since first two are 2-word verb phrases (“woke up”, “got dressed”), third could be “ran down” — but “ran down the street to catch” is too long. Safer fix:
→ *Amanda woke up, got dressed, and hurried to catch the bus.*
But let’s stick to minimal change: all past-tense verbs — it’s okay. Yet standard school answer expects:
Amanda woke up, got dressed, and ran down the street to catch the bus. — many sources accept this.

Wait — let’s check authoritative approach: Parallel structure requires same *grammatical construction*. “woke up”, “got dressed”, and “ran” are all past-tense phrasal/simple verbs — acceptable.

But for #5 and #6, changes are definite.

Let me provide the clearest, teacher-expected answers:

Part 1:
1. to read
2. singing
3. students
4. bird

Part 2:
1. Greg and Joe watched television, ate pizza, and played football.
2. Amanda woke up, got dressed, and ran down the street to catch the bus. *(or better: Amanda woke up, got dressed, and caught the bus — but original meaning loses “ran down street”. So keep as is? Hmm. Let’s choose safer: all three verb + object: “woke up” has no object — it’s intransitive. So maybe no change needed. I think for grade level, they accept original for 1 & 2. But the worksheet likely expects corrections only where broken.)

Looking at #3–6, only those need fixing.

Standard answers for such worksheets:

3. The old house’s windows were cracked, dirty, and broken.
4. The bicycle has large wheels, a big seat, and tall handlebars.
5. Make sure you stir the mixture, pour it into the pan, and smooth it out.
6. The peacock’s feathers were brighter, shinier, and longer than most bird feathers.

And for part 1:
1. to read
2. singing
3. students
4. bird

Yes.

Final Answer will list all completed items.

Final Answer:
1. to read
2. singing
3. students
4. bird
1. Greg and Joe watched television, ate pizza, and played football.
2. Amanda woke up, got dressed, and ran down the street to catch the bus.
3. The old house’s windows were cracked, dirty, and broken.
4. The bicycle has large wheels, a big seat, and tall handlebars.
5. Make sure you stir the mixture, pour it into the pan, and smooth it out.
6. The peacock’s feathers were brighter, shinier, and longer than most bird feathers.