Grammar: Parallelism

Which of the following sentences contains faulty parallelism?

• She likes dancing, singing, and acting.

• He enjoys reading books, to paint, and writing poems.

• They cleaned the house, washed the car, and cooked dinner.

• I prefer hiking to swimming.

Answer explanation

Explanation: reading (gerund), to paint (infinitive), and writing (gerund) are inconsistent.

Choose the sentence that is written in correct parallel structure.

• The students were excited to learn, participating in discussions, and doing experiments.

• The program focuses on leadership, communication, and solving problems.

• The goals are to inspire students, engaging them in activities, and promote growth.

• My mother likes baking, to garden, and sewing.

Answer explanation

Explanation: All elements are nouns—parallel in form.

Identify the part that breaks parallelism in this sentence:

"She is responsible for preparing the budget, managing the staff, and to coordinate events."

• preparing the budget

• managing the staff

• to coordinate events

• All of the above

Answer explanation

Explanation: to coordinate (infinitive) should match the gerunds.

Which revision fixes the faulty parallelism?

Original: He wanted not only to study engineering but also getting a job.

• He wanted not only to study engineering but also get a job.

• He not only wants to study engineering but getting a job too.

• He wanted to not only study engineering but also to getting a job.

• He wanted to not only study engineering but get a jobbing also.

What’s the best revision of this sentence?

Original: The team was praised for its creativity, working hard, and their honesty.

• The team was praised for creativity, hard work, and honesty.

• The team was praised for being creative, working hard, and they were honest.

• The team was praised for creating, working hard, and honesty.

• The team was praised for its creativity, its hard work, and for honesty.

Answer explanation

Explanation: All nouns—creativity, hard work, honesty—are parallel.

Which sentence contains faulty parallel structure?

• I like to dance, to swim, and to sing.

• He is smart, talented, and hardworking.

• They enjoy biking, running, and to hike.

• She plans to travel, to learn, and to grow.

Answer explanation

to hike (infinitive) should be hiking to match the gerunds.

Choose the best correction for the faulty sentence below:

Original: Either you start acting responsibly or face the consequences.

• Either you start acting responsibly or you will face the consequences.

• Either acting responsibly or face the consequences.

• Either you start acting responsibly or consequences.

• Either start acting responsibly or facing the consequences.

Answer explanation

Explanation: Both parts must follow the same structure (you...).

Which of the following is an example of parallel structure?

• The duties of the assistant include filing documents, to answer phones, and scheduling meetings.

• She not only studies hard but also works part-time.

• My uncle enjoys to fish, swimming, and camping.

• I want to learn coding, to bake cakes, and painting.

What revision makes this sentence parallel?

Original: We must either reduce costs or the increase in sales must happen.

• We must either reduce costs or increase sales.

• We must either cost reduction or increase sales.

• We either must reduce costs or increase sales happens.

• We must either reducing costs or increase in sales.

Answer explanation

Explanation: reduce and increase (verbs) are parallel.

Which part of this sentence breaks the parallel structure?

"To succeed, you must be disciplined, motivated, and have focus."

• be disciplined

• motivated

• have focus

• None of the above

Answer explanation

Explanation: be disciplined, motivated → adjectives. have focus is a different structure. Better: be focused.