Parallel Structure: The Little Grammar Trick That Packs a Punch

This article is going to look a lot like an article about grammar. There will be references to parts of speech, verb forms, and even the occasional prepositional phrase.

But make no mistake: We’re not just talking about the technicalities of writing. We’re talking about parallel structure, a device that helps us hack into our readers’ minds and produce instant clarity and emotional impact.

Parallel structure may be about grammar, but it’s also about balanced prose, rhythmic delivery, and drawing out the deeper meaning of each passage.

So if you’re serious about improving your skills as a storyteller, you should probably keep reading. 

What is Parallel Structure?

Parallel structure, also known as parallelism, occurs when two or more related words, phrases, or clauses follow the same grammatical structure. 

Now, while that definition is dead-on, it’s not very specific, so let me give you some examples.

I went outside, smelled the orange blossoms, and burst into song.

See how each action listed is a past-tense verb? See how the subject “I” is never repeated? That’s parallelism. 

This, however, is not:

I went outside, I smelled the orange blossoms, and burst into song.

See how the first two are clauses with a “subject + past-tense verb” construction, while the third is simply a verb without a subject? Not parallel.

Here’s another example:

She was in love and out of luck.

This is a parallel construction because both phrases are prepositional phrases. 

So why do you need to know all this?

We’ll go into deeper detail later, but there are two big reasons writers should be aware of parallelism.

The first is that a little awareness does a lot to help you write grammatically correct prose. That’s not to say that a lack of parallelism automatically indicates a grammatical error. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s just that a parallel structure is always correct.

Going beyond technicalities, parallel structure can really power your prose. It clarifies through patterns, delivers a greater emotional impact, and creates a memorable rhythm. That’s why some of the most famous lines throughout history sound like this:

“I came, I saw, I conquered.” –Julius Caesar

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice." –Martin Luther King Jr.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” –A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

See how these sentences resonate thanks to their parallel elements?

How to Create Parallel Construction

You can create a parallel structure among words, phrases, or clauses. Let’s look at each one.

Words

When we’re talking about parallelism at the word level, we’re referring to a list of individual words that take the same grammatical form. For example:

He packed his toothbrush, razor, and harmonica.

All listed items are singular nouns. Here’s another one:

They’re very busy coughing, sneezing, and shivering.

All present-tense verbs.

Phrases 

A phrase is a group of words that work together as a part of speech without a subject-verb construction. Here’s what parallelism at the phrase level looks like:

We went over the river and through the woods.

The phrases “over the river” and “through the woods” are grammatically parallel because they’re both prepositional phrases. Here’s another one:

If you want to live in my house, you’ll abide by my rules.

“My house” and “my rules” are both possessive phrases. Actually, you could take this one even further and say that both “live in my house” and “abide by my rules” have a “verb + preposition + possessive pronoun + noun” construction.

Clauses

A clause is a phrase that contains both a subject and a verb. In parallel structure, it might look something like this:

I just want to hear that I’m right and they’re wrong.

“I’m right” and “they’re wrong” are clauses with the same grammatical construction. Both feature “subject + linking verb” contractions followed by an adjective. 

It would not be parallelism if it were, “I just want to hear that I’m right and they made a mistake.” It’s not wrong. It’s just not a parallel construction.

What Makes These Parts Parallel?

We touched on this a bit in the examples above, but a little more insight will make it much easier for you to master parallelism in your own writing.

When we talk about maintaining grammatical consistency, what are we talking about exactly? 

It’s usually one of these things:

Same Parts of Speech

This comes into play when you’re listing things. In order for it to be parallelism, items or actions in a list must share the same part of speech. For example:

Parallel: The lecture was long (adjective), dull (adjective), and rambling (adjective).

Not Parallel: The lecture was long (adjective), dull (adjective), and made (verb) no sense.

Parallel: Your party was positively delightful (adverb-adjective) and utterly unforgettable (adverb-adjective).

Not Parallel: Your party was positively delightful (advert-adjective), and I got great pictures (subject-verb-adjective-object).

Same Verb Tense and Verb Form

If your parallel structure involves multiple verbs, you want to make sure they’re all the same form. That ensures a clear pattern and makes things clearer for your reader. For example:

Parallel: I’d rather give advice than take advice.

Not Parallel: I’d rather give advice than be taking advice.

Parallel: She saw it, she documented it, and she reported it.

Not Parallel: She saw it, she documented it, and she had reported it.

If some of these examples are making your skin crawl, you already have a good instinct for grammatically necessary parallel structure.

Same Noun Form

You even want to keep an eye on your noun forms. Are they all plural? Possessive? Proper?

Parallel: I went skiing with Jackie, Otis, and Rick.

Not Parallel: I went skiing with Jackie, Otis, and some guy we met at the gas station.

The second sentence is a good example of a non-parallel structure that’s still grammatically correct and even has a comedic effect because the brain is expecting a continued pattern and gets a surprise instead. It’s not always a bad thing to break expectations. You just want to be deliberate in how you do it.

Now here’s another example:

Parallel: Is this for you, Rosie, or Hugo?

Not Parallel: Is this for you, Rosie, or Hugo’s?

In this case, the second example is just a bad sentence. Nothing fun about that surprise.

What’s So Great About Maintaining the Same Grammatical Structure?

You can probably begin to answer this question already. But it’s still worth it to do a quick rundown of all the reasons parallel structure equals stronger writing.

Grammatical Correctness (With Less Thought)

As we discussed, it is possible to break the pattern without making a grammatical error. That said, you have a better chance of avoiding grammatically incorrect sentences when you stick with a parallel structure.

Clarity Through Patterns

Our brains love patterns. They look for commonalities so they can easily organize information for swifter, more accurate processing. 

When you use parallel structure in your writing, you improve the readability of your work by giving your readers established patterns. It takes way less effort for them to follow the meaning of your words.

Rhythm

This is a big reason why you find parallel structure in so many famous quotes. The patterns create a sense of rhythm and flow, and the musicality of the words makes the line more memorable and engaging.

Thematic Emphasis

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

By using parallel structure, Neil Armstrong highlighted the contrast between an ordinary action and the tremendous accomplishment the action represented. It wouldn’t have been quite as impactful if he’d said, “That’s one small step, but it’s on the moon, so it’s a pretty big deal.” 

Parallelism is a great tool for driving home a key idea or theme. It’s memorable, rhythmic, and presents different items or concepts in a way that encourages you to compare them.

Emotional Escalation

This might be my favorite perk when it comes to parallel structure. Because it involves repetition, there’s always an opportunity to emphasize and escalate. Really comes in handy when you’re writing emotional dialogue.

You didn’t think I’d be angry that you skipped my party? That you stole my car? That you blamed my mother? You didn’t think that would make me angry?

See how easy that was?

How to Check Your Work for Faulty Parallelism

I’ll say it one more time: not all sentences have to have a parallel construction in order to be grammatically correct.

That said, there are times when a lack of parallelism is technically incorrect. We call this faulty parallelism, and it often happens when a writer accidentally mixes parts of speech or verb forms. For example:

Faulty: I want to go to France, go to Japan, and Kenya.

Fixed: I want to go to France, go to Japan, and go to Kenya.

Fixed: I want to go to France, Japan, and Kenya.

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Faulty: You can have both your cake and eat it, too.

Fixed: You can both have your cake and eat it, too. 

Here are a few tips for keeping faulty parallelism out of your own writing.

Watch Your Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of words that work together to connect ideas, like “both/and,” “either/or,” and “no only/but also.” In order to use correlative conjunctions correctly, you must make sure the elements they connect are parallel in structure.

Correct: She not only traveled 1,000 miles for this convention but also arrived on a unicycle. 

Faulty: She not only traveled 1,000 miles for this convention but also she’s a skilled unicyclist. 

I bring this up because correlative conjunctions are where a lot of errors happen, especially when you’re working with longer sentences. So keep an eye on yours.

Make It a List

When in doubt, rewrite your sentence as a list. If your sentence is, “You’re not gonna party all night and sleep all day,” write it like this:

You’re not gonna:

• Party all night
• Sleep all day

Those bullet points look pretty similar to me. Now let’s try, “You’re gonna get up, you’re gonna go out, and get a job.”

• You’re gonna get up
• You’re gonna go out
• Get a job

Lost our rhythm a bit there, didn’t we?

Hear It 

Once again, our brains prefer patterns. And that’s exactly why reading your work aloud helps you pick out instances of faulty parallelism. It’ll sound clunky. Jarring. Unnatural. You’ll have an immediate impulse to fix it.

Little hint for Dabble users: You can also use Dabble’s Read to Me feature to have your own words read back to you by a disembodied voice. Makes it even easier to pick out errors. 

Little hint for non-Dabble-users: You can try Read to Me and all Dabble’s other features free for 14 days by clicking this link.

Get Feedback

Your copy editor will know it’s an instance of faulty parallelism. Some beta readers might just scribble “clunky” or “awk” in the margin. Either way, getting other eyes on your draft is a great way to make sure all your sentences read smoothly and are parallel when parallelism is essential.

And while human eyes are always crucial to the process, grammar check tools can help, too. Which is why Dabble has ProWritingAid built in. Just saying.

Go Ahead and Sweat Some Small Stuff

I get that this may feel like such a small detail in the grand scheme of fiction writing. What’s one sentence in a three-hundred-page novel?

It matters, though. Great prose doesn’t happen accidentally. It happens when you pay attention to the details and work to cultivate good habits. 

Fortunately, you can have fun doing those things, especially when you join the DabbleU Campus community, where you’ll be able to connect with tons of writers (Dabblers and non-Dabblers alike) who are on the same journey as you. Get feedback, join us for live events, and blast through your first draft in our community word sprints. 

It’s free to join, so come check it out!