Parallel Sentences

Parallel sentence structures
When you have compound sentences or lists, you’ll want each part of the sentence to be in equivalent form. Parallel sentence structures make it easy for your readers to see the relationships between various ideas in the sentence. Besides, unparallel sentences “sound funny.”

Notice the difference parallel sentences can make in writing.

1. Jamie was angry and in a defiant mood when she learned that her brother would stand trial for
murder.

2. Jamie was angry and defiant when she learned that her brother would stand trial for murder.

Revise the following sentences into parallel sentence structures.
1. To read a book about India is different from actually traveling to the country.
2. To be successful in school, a student needs not only to go to class but also must spend two hours a
night studying.
3. She could swim a mile in the morning, run five miles in the afternoon, and could still be ready
to play a game of pick-up basketball that night.

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