Parallelism

Learning Objectives

In this section, you will learn how to: 

• Define parallelism and recognize grammatical structures that require parallelism
• Apply the Kaplan Method for Sentence Correction to sentences that may have non-parallel constructions

The basic concept behind parallelism is pretty simple: ideas with the same importance and function—nouns, verbs, phrases, or whatever—should be expressed in the same grammatical form. There are two types of constructions that test parallel structure on the GMAT:

1. Lists of items or a series of events
2. Two-part constructions such as from X to Y, both X and Y, either X or Y, prefer X to Y, not only X but also Y, and as much X as Y

Parallel Construction

Prepositions, articles, and auxiliaries can begin a list without needing to be repeated throughout. But if they are repeated, they must be in every element of the list.

• Correct: “Will you travel by plane, car, or boat?”
• Also correct: “Will you travel by plane, by car, or by boat?”
• Incorrect: “Will you travel by plane, car, or by boat?”

Analogies, similes, and other comparisons all require parallel structure.

• He was as brazen as his brother was diffident.
• Seeing her smile was like feeling the warmth of the sun.

Parallelism Exercise

Answers follow this exercise.

For each of the following sentences, put parallel items into the same form.

1. The city’s decay stems from governmental mismanagement, increasing unemployment, and many businesses are relocating.
2. Tourists’ images of France range from cosmopolitan to the pastoral.
3. Excited about visiting New York, Jasmine minded neither riding the subways nor to cope with the crowded sidewalks.
4. To visualize success is not the same as achieving it.
5. I remember my aunt making her own dandelion wine and that she played the fiddle.
6. In my favorite Armenian restaurant, the menu is fascinating and the entrées exquisite.

Parallelism Exercise: Answers

1. “[M]any businesses are relocating” should be written as business relocation to parallel “governmental mismanagement” and “increasing unemployment.”
2. If you say “the pastoral,” you have to say the cosmopolitan. Or you could say . . . from cosmopolitan to pastoral.
3. To parallel “riding,” you need coping—not “to cope.”
4. “To visualize” should be visualizing to parallel “achieving.” Alternately, “achieving” could be written as to achieve to be in parallel with “[t]o visualize.”
5. Change “my aunt making” to that my aunt made to be parallel with “that she played.” Another possibility is to change “that she played” to playing to match “making.”
6. “[T]he menu” is singular, but “entrées” is plural, so you must say are exquisite to parallel the phrase “is fascinating.”

Applying the Kaplan Method: Parallelism

Now let’s use the Kaplan Method on a Sentence Correction question dealing with parallelism:

1. Pablo Picasso’s genius is only fully revealed when one considers the various facets of his work as they developed through many artistic phases, beginning with his Red period, continuing through his Blue period, and finishing with his period of Cubism.
   1. period, continuing through his Blue period, and finishing with his period of Cubism
   2. period, continuing through his Blue period, and finishing with his Cubist period
   3. period, and continuing through his Blue period and his Cubist period
   4. period phase, his Blue period phase, and his phase of Cubism
   5. period, his Blue period, and his period of Cubism

Step 1: Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors

The original sentence contains a list, so your Pattern Recognition skills should tell you to check for parallel structure. Because the first two items in the list contain “Red period” and “Blue period,” you should expect the third item in the list to follow the adjective-noun pattern and contain “Cubist period.” Instead, this sentence ends with “period of Cubism,” breaking the pattern and making choice (A) incorrect.

Step 2: Scan and Group the Answer Choices

Choices (B) and (C) end with “his Cubist period,” while (A) and (E) reference “his period of Cubism” and (D) ends with the similar construction “his phase of Cubism.” You have a 3-2 split.

Step 3: Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains

You’ve established that (A) is incorrect, so eliminate (D) and (E) as well. This leaves only (B) and (C) with the correct parallel construction “Cubist period.” The list should also contain the parallel phrases “beginning . . . continuing . . . and finishing.” (C) is wrong because it drops “finishing,” which alters the meaning and also destroys the parallel structure. Only (B) exhibits parallel structure throughout the list and is the correct answer. Read it back into the sentence to confirm there are no errors: 

Pablo Picasso’s genius is only fully revealed when one considers the various facets of his work as they developed through many artistic phases, beginning with his Red period, continuing through his Blue period, and finishing with his Cubist period.

Takeaways: Parallelism

• Items in a list must have parallel form.
• Many two-part constructions set up parallel elements. Examples: “not only A but also B,” “from A to B,” and “either A or B.”
• The key to handling parallel structure questions is consistency.
• Analogies, metaphors, similes, and other comparisons all require parallel structure.

Practice Set: Parallelism

21. Although carotene and xanthophyll are present in leaves throughout the year, these pigments are not usually visible until the days shorten, temperature drops, and the breaking down of the chlorophyll in the leaves reveals the yellow and orange colors.
    1. the days shorten, temperature drops, and the breaking down of the chlorophyll in the leaves reveals
    2. the days shorten, the temperature drops, and the chlorophyll breakdown in the leaves is to reveal
    3. the days shorten, the temperature drops, and the chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down, revealing
    4. the days are shorter, the temperature is lower, and less chlorophyll in the leaves due to breakdown reveals
    5. the days shorten, the temperature drops, and chlorophyll breaks down, revealing in the leaves
22. By conducting a national study of opioid abuse on college campuses, researchers hope to determine where students purchase opioids, how frequently students abuse opioids on average, and which college stressors most commonly contribute to opioid abuse among students.
    1. which college stressors most commonly contribute to opioid abuse among students
    2. which are the college stressors common to students who are likely to be turning to opioid abuse
    3. the common stressors of college that are likely to contribute to opioid abuse among students
    4. the stressors of college common among students who turn to opioid abuse
    5. the types of college stressors that are common to students who are likely to turn to opioid abuse
23. Although deciding the outcome of an election by chance may seem antiquated, a toss of a coin, playing a round of poker, and drawing straws are all methods that have been used within the span of 15 years to determine the winner of a deadlocked election somewhere in the United States. 
    1. a toss of a coin, playing a round of poker, and drawing straws are all methods that have been used
    2. the tossing of a coin, playing a round of poker, and drawing straws are all methods that have been used
    3. tossing a coin, playing a round of poker, and drawing straws are all methods that would have been used
    4. a toss of a coin, playing a round of poker, and drawing straws are all methods that had been used
    5. tossing a coin, playing a round of poker, and drawing straws are all methods that have been used

Advanced Practice Set: Parallelism

24. According to one nutrition consultant, healthy adults should not hesitate to consume eggs, since this food contains six grams of high-quality protein, all nine essential amino acids, vitamins B12 and D, and is a source of various other nutrients as well.
    1. vitamins B12 and D, and is a source of various other nutrients
    2. vitamins B12 and D, and including various other nutrients
    3. vitamins B12 and D, and various other nutrients are included
    4. and vitamins B12 and D, and it is a source of various other nutrients
    5. the vitamins B12 and D, and provides various other nutrients
25. In Cold Blood is not only often considered Truman Capote’s most popular novel but also the first “nonfiction novel,” a literary genre that uses techniques of fictional storytelling to depict actual people and events.  
    1. is not only often considered
    2. is as often not only considered
    3. is often considered not only
    4. not only is often considered to be
    5. not only is considered as often
26. The self-portraits of Frida Kahlo can be considered both introspective explorations of a psyche that ranged free, unbounded by historical notions of cultural identity and feminine, as well as subverting traditional European portraiture.
    1. feminine, as well as subverting
    2. being feminine, and subverted
    3. that was feminine, and subversions of
    4. the femininity, as well as subverted
    5. femininity, and subversions of