Parallel Structure Practice Worksheet 1 featuring exercises to edit, complete, and rewrite sentences for grammatical parallelism.

Let's go through each section of the worksheet and solve the problems step by step, focusing on parallel structure—which means using the same grammatical form for elements in a list or series to ensure clarity and balance.

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✔ Practice 1: Edit these sentences to create parallel structure.

We'll revise each sentence so that the items in a list are in the same grammatical form.

1. Original: Mike likes to listen to rock music and reading mystery novels.
→ "listen to" and "reading" are not parallel (infinitive vs. gerund).
Corrected: Mike likes to listen to rock music and to read mystery novels.
*(Both infinitives)*

2. Original: Julia is in charge of stocking the shelves, writing orders, and to sell computers.
→ "stocking", "writing", and "to sell" are inconsistent (gerunds vs. infinitive).
Corrected: Julia is in charge of stocking the shelves, writing orders, and selling computers.
*(All gerunds)*

3. Original: My grandfather’s favorite pastime is to eat in trendy restaurants and visiting art galleries.
→ "to eat" (infinitive) and "visiting" (gerund) don’t match.
Corrected: My grandfather’s favorite pastime is eating in trendy restaurants and visiting art galleries.
*(Both gerunds)*

4. Original: While in France, my nephew spent his time studying French, working in a restaurant, and he jogged along the Seine River every morning.
→ The last part ("he jogged") breaks the parallelism with the other two gerund phrases.
Corrected: While in France, my nephew spent his time studying French, working in a restaurant, and jogging along the Seine River every morning.
*(All gerunds)*

5. Original: Joan decided to paint her office, to add some new curtains, and that the rug needs dry cleaning.
→ First two are infinitives, third is a full clause. Not parallel.
Corrected: Joan decided to paint her office, to add some new curtains, and to have the rug dry cleaned.
*(All infinitives; "have...dry cleaned" is correct passive construction)*

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✔ Practice 2: Complete the sentences with parallel structure.

We’ll complete each sentence so that all parts follow the same grammatical pattern.

1. With no job, money or food, the student had to drop out of school.
→ All nouns: job, money, food.

2. Because I used a computer to write my research paper, I could easily correct spelling errors, move paragraphs and delete unnecessary sections.
→ All verbs: correct, move, delete (all base forms).

3. While I was in college, I worked as a waitress, as a typist, and as a tutor.
→ All prepositional phrases starting with "as".

4. The professor walked through the door, looked at the students, and spoke to the class.
→ All past tense verbs: walked, looked, spoke.

5. I was surprised to learn that, in person, the lead singer of 2PM was warm, friendly and outgoing.
→ All adjectives describing personality: warm, friendly, outgoing.

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✔ Practice 3: Rewrite the sentences and fix non-parallel elements. Combine sentences, if necessary.

Now we’ll rewrite each sentence to fix any non-parallel structures.

1. Original: He was handsome, brave, and the sort of person who would do anything for you.
→ "handsome" and "brave" are adjectives; "the sort of person..." is a noun phrase. Not parallel.
Fixed: He was handsome, brave, and generous.
*(Or better: He was handsome, brave, and someone who would do anything for you.)*
But to keep it parallel: He was handsome, brave, and kind.
*(All adjectives)*

2. Original: I was afraid of the river. It had a fast current, big waves and it was cold.
→ Two sentences. Also, "fast current, big waves" (noun phrases), then "it was cold" (clause).
Fixed: I was afraid of the river because it had a fast current, big waves, and was cold.
*(Now all three: “had a fast current”, “had big waves”, “was cold” — but better to make them parallel in form.)*
Better: I was afraid of the river because it had a fast current, large waves, and cold water.
*(All noun phrases – parallel)*

3. Original: That high school has many rules. Students need to wear uniforms, arrive before 8am and they cannot bring their Smartphone to school.
→ Mixed structure: first two are imperative-like clauses, third is negative.
Fixed: That high school has many rules: students must wear uniforms, arrive before 8 a.m., and not bring smartphones to school.
*(All infinitive phrases after "must")*

4. Original: The room was beautiful, the service was impeccable, and I've never tasted better food in my entire life.
→ First two are subject-verb, third is a complete sentence. Not parallel.
Fixed: The room was beautiful, the service was impeccable, and the food was the best I’ve ever tasted.
*(All subject + linking verb + complement)*

5. Original: Being a nurse is a good career because of the high salary, vacations and schedules.
→ "high salary" (noun), "vacations" (noun), "schedules" (noun) — okay, but "schedules" is vague.
→ But “because of” should be followed by nouns. So it’s actually acceptable, though awkward.
Improved: Being a nurse is a good career because of the high salary, generous vacation time, and flexible schedule.
*(All noun phrases with modifiers)*

6. Original: It is dangerous to be living in this world today because of war, unemployment and not enough money.
→ "war", "unemployment" are nouns; "not enough money" is a noun phrase, but awkward.
Fixed: It is dangerous to live in this world today because of war, unemployment, and poverty.
*(All nouns – more concise and parallel)*

7. Original: Cooking and eating at home is a good idea for students because it saves time, money and it is easy to do.
→ "saves time, money" (verbs), then "it is easy" (full clause). Not parallel.
Fixed: Cooking and eating at home is a good idea for students because it saves time and money and is easy to do.
*(Now: saves... and is... — both verb phrases, parallel)*

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✔ Final Answers Summary:

#### Practice 1:
1. Mike likes to listen to rock music and to read mystery novels.
2. Julia is in charge of stocking the shelves, writing orders, and selling computers.
3. My grandfather’s favorite pastime is eating in trendy restaurants and visiting art galleries.
4. While in France, my nephew spent his time studying French, working in a restaurant, and jogging along the Seine River every morning.
5. Joan decided to paint her office, to add some new curtains, and to have the rug dry cleaned.

#### Practice 2:
1. food
2. delete unnecessary sections
3. as a tutor
4. spoke to the class
5. outgoing

#### Practice 3:
1. He was handsome, brave, and kind.
2. I was afraid of the river because it had a fast current, large waves, and cold water.
3. That high school has many rules: students must wear uniforms, arrive before 8 a.m., and not bring smartphones to school.
4. The room was beautiful, the service was impeccable, and the food was the best I’ve ever tasted.
5. Being a nurse is a good career because of the high salary, generous vacation time, and flexible schedule.
6. It is dangerous to live in this world today because of war, unemployment, and poverty.
7. Cooking and eating at home is a good idea for students because it saves time and money and is easy to do.

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