Parallelism Practice online exercise for - Free Printable

Let's go through each sentence and determine whether it is Parallel or Non-Parallel, based on the structure of the underlined parts. Parallelism means that elements in a list or series should have the same grammatical form.

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a. My after-school job involves answering phones, taking messages, and to type up orders.

- Underlined: *answering phones, taking messages, and to type up orders*
- Analysis: "Answering" and "taking" are gerunds (verb + -ing), but "to type up" is an infinitive.
- This is not parallel because the forms don't match.
- ✔ Non-Parallel

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b. James is an excellent physician, Diane is a great doctor, and Jorge was great.

- Underlined: *is an excellent physician, is a great doctor, and was great*
- Analysis: The first two use "is" with a noun phrase; the third uses "was" with an adjective ("great"). Also, "physician" and "doctor" are similar, but "was great" lacks the noun form.
- Not consistent in structure — tense and form differ.
- ✔ Non-Parallel

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c. I like ice cream, cakes, and pizza.

- Underlined: *ice cream, cakes, and pizza*
- Analysis: All are nouns (food items). They are all objects of the verb "like."
- Parallel structure: all are simple nouns.
- ✔ Parallel

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d. Kim is a terrific dancer and John is a talented choreographer.

- Underlined: *terrific dancer* and *talented choreographer*
- Analysis: Both are noun phrases with adjectives modifying nouns.
- Structure: "a [adjective] [noun]" — both follow this pattern.
- ✔ Parallel

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e. My friends prefer riding bikes to soccer.

- Underlined: *riding bikes to soccer*
- Analysis: "Riding bikes" is a gerund phrase; "soccer" is a noun. But "prefer X to Y" is a standard construction where X and Y are typically nouns or gerunds.
- Here, "riding bikes" (gerund) vs. "soccer" (noun) — not parallel in form.
- However, this is acceptable in English idiomatically, but strictly speaking, for full parallelism, both should be gerunds or both nouns.
- Since one is a gerund and one is a noun, it’s not perfectly parallel.
- ✔ Non-Parallel

> Note: Some might argue this is acceptable, but for grammar exercises, lack of form consistency counts as non-parallel.

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f. Every player received an ovation. Every player acknowledged the crowd's applause.

- Underlined: *received* and *acknowledged*
- These are two separate sentences. Each has the same subject and verb structure: "Every player [past tense verb] ..."
- Although they're not in the same sentence, they are parallel in structure.
- ✔ Parallel

> (Note: Even though they’re separate sentences, the structures are identical and parallel.)

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g. Entering the room, the players felt nervous, excited, and energetic.

- Underlined: *nervous, excited, and energetic*
- These are all adjectives describing how the players felt.
- All are past participles used as adjectives — same part of speech and function.
- ✔ Parallel

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h. Jamal described the place where he was born and educated.

- Underlined: *born and educated*
- Both are past participles used as adjectives.
- "Was born" and "was educated" — both passive constructions.
- The structure is parallel: "was [past participle]"
- ✔ Parallel

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i. I admitted to talking to the president and to sing the anthem.

- Underlined: *talking to the president* and *to sing the anthem*
- "Admitted to" takes a gerund: "admitted to doing something"
- So, "talking" is correct (gerund), but "to sing" is an infinitive — incorrect form.
- Should be: "admitted to talking ... and to singing..."
- Mixed forms → non-parallel
- ✔ Non-Parallel

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j. Joe likes running, walking, and outdoor activities.

- Underlined: *running, walking, and outdoor activities*
- "Running" and "walking" are gerunds (verbs ending in -ing).
- "Outdoor activities" is a noun phrase.
- The first two are actions (gerunds), the last is a general category of things.
- Not parallel in form — two verbs vs. one noun.
- ✔ Non-Parallel

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✔ Final Answers:

| Sentence | Answer |
|--------|--------------|
| a | Non-Parallel |
| b | Non-Parallel |
| c | Parallel |
| d | Parallel |
| e | Non-Parallel |
| f | Parallel |
| g | Parallel |
| h | Parallel |
| i | Non-Parallel |
| j | Non-Parallel |

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✔ Summary:

- Parallel: c, d, f, g, h
- Non-Parallel: a, b, e, i, j

✔ Total: 10 points — all answered correctly.

Let me know if you'd like explanations rewritten more simply or expanded!