Parallel Construction
Set up a list so that each chunk of the list appears in the same grammatical form.
(1) What does NON-PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION look like?
When I have free time, I enjoy watching movies, to go for a walk, and call my friend back home. [Three verbs appear in three different forms.]
(2) Why is NON-PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION problematic?
In addition to sounding awkward, non-parallel construction can cause confusion if the applicability of an initial word or phrase to multiple elements in a list is not clear.
(3) How to fix NON-PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION?
When I have free time, I enjoy watching movies, going for a walk, and calling my friend back home. [All three verbs appear in same form.]
Law School Writing Center is located in room 212A (We’ve moved!) of Wood Hall on the Law Campus.
MSC: 51
email legalwrt@lclark.edu
voice 503-768-6873
Writing Specialist
Hillary Gell
Teaching Fellow
Madeline Masaryk
Online appointment scheduling system for the Writing Center
Law School Writing Center
Lewis & Clark Law School
10101 S. Terwilliger Boulevard MSC 51
Portland OR 97219