Parallel Structure in Grammar

Select the sentence that illustrates the use of proper parallel construction. 

• Phuong Tran has wit, charm, and she has an extremely pleasant personality.
• Phuong Tran has wit, charm, and a pleasing personality.

Select the sentence that illustrates the use of proper parallel construction.

• He wanted three things out of college: to learn a skill, to make good friends, and to learn about life.

• He wanted three things out of college: to learn a skill, to make good friends, and learning about life.

Which example shows correct parallel structure?

• Recommended exercise includes to run, to swim, and cycling.

• Recommended exercise includes running, swimming, and cycling.

• Recommended exercise includes running, swimming, and to cycle.

• Recommended exercise includes running, to swim, and cycling.

Replace the underlined portion of the sentence with a choice that creates a parallel structure.

Learning a new language as an adult is more difficult than to learn one as a child.

• learning

• to learning

• learned

• no change

Select the sentence that illustrates the use of proper parallel construction. 

• The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and to do some warm-up exercises before the game. 
• The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game. 

Which sentence uses parallel structure correctly?

• Melina Bond's infant cousin has three talents: eating, sleeping, and crying a lot.

• Melina Bond's infant cousin has three talents: eating, to sleep, and he cries a lot.

• Melina Bond's infant cousin has three talents: to eat, sleeping, and crying a lot.

Which grammatical structure is repeated in Jefferson's statement from the "Declaration"?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

• nouns

• verbs

• adjectives

• clauses

Which grammatical structure is being used in the sentence below:

"Because I grew up in Switzerland, I read and speak both French and German."

• nouns and verbs

• adjectives and verbs

• adjectives and pronouns

Which grammatical structure is repeated in Stanton's statement from her "Declaration"?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

• nouns

• verbs

• adjectives

• clauses

What change makes the following sentence parallel?

"The process of natural selection requires that animals to be able to adapt to changing climates, to discover new foods, and defend themselves against their enemies."

• change adapt to adapting

• add "to" to defend

• add "to" to adapt

• change discover to discovering