Parallelism is an important tool at any writer's disposal, and can be used for a variety of purposes:
The following well-known adage is an example of parallelism: "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.". The grammatical structures of the first and second sentences parallel each other. Some additional key details about parallelism:
In contrast to the strictly grammatical view of parallelism, in rhetoric and literature parallelism can do much more than just create a pleasing and grammatical sentence structure. Writers use parallel grammatical elements within one sentence or, more broadly, between and among different sentences in a paragraph, for effect: to emphasize ideas or themes, suggest connections, or highlight contrasts, all while adding rhythm to the structure of their expression.
Here’s a quick and simple definition: Parallelism is a figure of speech in which two or more elements of a sentence (or series of sentences) have the same grammatical structure. These "parallel" elements can be used to intensify the rhythm of language, or to draw a comparison, emphasize, or elaborate on an idea.
Parallelism is everywhere because it's one of the rules of grammar that makes ideas (both simple and complex) easier to understand.
Another specific type of parallelism is anaphora. This figure of speech involves the repetition of at least one word at the beginning of successive clauses or phrases. In one of Winston Churchill's most famous speeches during World War II, he makes stirring use of anaphora:
One literary device that often makes use of parallelism is antithesis. In antitheses, two elements of a sentence are placed in contrast to one another. This opposition is clearest when a writer puts the ideas in parallel positions.
We can find two kinds of markers in parallel lists - single-word makers and dual-word markers.
Per English grammar rule , all elements of list MUST be consistent with one another.
As we said, every parallel list contains a marker. Hence, it is important to learn about them to identify the correct list. Identifying the correct list is half battle won in solving the parallelism problem. Once the correct list is identified, identifying the errors in the entities and making them parallel, both grammatically and logically become really easy.
1. Just as an archaeologist needs a background in art history to evaluate the finds of ancient art, so a nautical archaeologist needs specialized knowledge of the history and theory of ship design in order to understand shipwrecks. (Correct version)
Just as background in art history is needed by an archaeologist to evaluate the finds of ancient art, so a nautical archaeologist needs specialized knowledge of the history and theory of ship design in order to understand shipwrecks. (Incorrect version)
The sentence says that this year's drought has led to scarcity of food that has forced the bears to come to town in search of food. They have walked into farmer's market, broken into cars, and even gotten into people's kitchen.
Parallelism is the idea that parts of a sentence such as items in a series should be phrased in the same grammatical way. The famous quote of Julius Caesar is good example of why parallelism is so powerful.
Not Parallel: I like going to the beach, to go out to eat, and going to the movies.
Sometimes, it is difficult to see the parts of a sentence that should be parallel. Can you see the nonparallel part of the next sentence?