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Learning Parallel Structure
Objectives
Comprehend parallel
structure by using it in a sentence appropriately
Learn
about it!
Have you ever heard or
read the quotation? That is a really great quote by Martin Luther King Jr. What
does make the quote so powerful and inspiring? What does it have to do with
this lesson?
Pay attention to the
structure of the sentences in the above quote:
- If you
can't fly, then run.
- If you
can’t run, then walk.
- If you
can’t walk, then crawl.
- Whatever
you do, you have to keep moving forward.
Each sentence above consists of two clauses. Each clause in the
same sentence uses present verb. They are parallel with
each other. This is what you are going to learn in this lesson. This lesson
will give you more insight into parallel structure (or sometimes called
parallelism).
So, up to this point
do you understand what parallel structure is? If you still don’t, you do not
have to worry because you will find more of it in the following explanation.
Take a look at the
examples below. Try to pay attention to the structure of the sentences.
- Mother
told me to study hard, eating well, and lived happily.
- Mother
told me to study hard, eat well, and live happily.
When you read the
first sentence, you will find some inconsistent form of verbs. The first phrase is
in the present form: study, the second phrase is in the –ing form: eating, and the last one is
in its past form: lived. If you write a sentence like this, it will
show your inconsistency in using the grammatical pattern. Besides, your writing
will not be so readable for the reader.
Now, look at the
second sentence. It is more readable, isn’t it? By readable it means that you
can follow the structure easily. The phrases in the second sentence above are
connected by coordinating conjunction with parallel structure (the lesson about
conjunctions is accessible in the previous lesson if you need it). The first
phrase is mother told me to study hard, the next one is eat well, and the last one is live happily.Study, eat, and live.
All the phrases are using the same form of verb: present verb.
This is called parallel structure. Parallel structure provides clout and
clarity in your writing, so the readers can follow the structure and read your
writing easily.
By definition,
parallel structure means the construction of a sentence in which the phrases or
clauses use the same grammatical pattern in order to show that two or more
ideas have the same level of importance. Basically, it is the repetition of the
grammatical pattern in a sentence.
- If
you use adjective in the first phrase, the rest of the phrase(s) in the
sentence should be adjective.
- If
you use past or present form in the first clause, then you have to keep on
using present tense for the next clause in the same sentence.
- If
you use active sentence for the first clause, you have to use active
sentence for the next clause in the same sentence as well.
Changing the grammatical pattern or the verb form will break the
parallelism in your sentence construction. When joining the words, phrases, or
clauses in a parallel structure, you can use coordinating conjunctions or
correlative conjunctions (you can find the lesson about conjunction in this
website as well).
Do
you understand?
More examples for you:
- I think
it will be better if we go there, and tell them about this situation.
- We could plant more trees to reduce pollution,
or cut them to add more pollution.
- If I
have the money, I would rather pay for my education than receive financial aid.
Keypoints
- Parallel
structure combines grammatically similar verbs, adjectives or nouns.
- Using
adjective in the first phrase requires the use of adjectives in rest of
the phrase(s).
- Using
past or present form in the first clause, requiring the use of present
tense for the next clause in the same sentence.
- Using an
active sentence in the first clause, requiring the use of an active
sentence in the next clause.
Lets Practice!
SOAL
1
A: What do you think about the commemoration of Asian-African
conference two months ago?
B: I think the event was successful and it does fun to
be there. It is a reminder of our glorious moment in history as one of the
countries who hold an important role in the world’s development.
Change the underlined
word, so it becomes parallel ….
a. was fun
B. were fun
C. funs
D. is fun
E. did fun
PETUNJUK
The sentence should be
parallel.
PEMBAHASAN
Jawaban A
Parallel sentence use the same grammatical pattern. Since the previous clause use past tense, thus it should use past tense as well. The subject is it, so the verb should be was.
SOAL 2
Global warming is affecting the ecosystem, environment, and ….
A. the whole planet
B. is bad for the earth
C. destructive
D. scary
E. dangerous
PETUNJUK
The
sentence should be parallel.
PEMBAHASAN
Jawaban A
Global warming is
affecting the ecosystem, environment, and ….
‘The ecosystem’ and ‘environment’ are noun, so the last word should be noun as well.
SOAL 3
We had to choose
between going back or ... here.
The most suitable word to complete the sentence is ….
A. staying
B. stay
C. stays
D. stayed
E. is staying
PETUNJUK
The
sentence should be parallel.
PEMBAHASAN
Jawaban A
The
previous phrase is in –ing form ‘We had to choose between going back
or …’
Thus,
the word should be in –ing form as well.
SOAL
4
A college is a corner of men's hearts where hope has not died
(1). Here the prison house has not closed (2); here no battle is yet quite lost
(3). Here, we assert, endow, and defend as final reality the best of our dream
as men (4). Here lies our sense of community (5).
Definition of college by Howard Lowry
The sentence that has parallel structure is ….
A. 4
B. 5
C. 3
D. 2
E. 1
PETUNJUK
Which sentence does
have parallel structure?
PEMBAHASAN
Jawanan A
“…we assert, endow, and defend …”
The sentence use the
same grammatical pattern (the present verb form) for each phrase: assert,
endow, defend.
SOAL
5
All sentences are parallel, except ….
A. The book is about defending morality and change the current paradigm.
B. The people rebelled against the harsh and injustice government.
C. My sister likes not only to draw but also to play piano.
D. Our duty is to give back to the society and help those whore are in need.
E. My hobby is riding bike, swimming, and hiking.
PETUNJUK
Which sentence is not
parallel?
PEMBAHASAN
Jawaban A
To make the sentence
parallel, it should be ‘The book is about defending morality and changing the current paradigm.’
SOAL
6
We use dictionary to ….
A. find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and irregular verbs.
B. finding word meanings, looking up pronunciations, correct spellings, and irregular verbs.
C. finding word meanings, pronunciations, finding correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs.
D. find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs.
E. find word meanings, finding pronunciations, correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs.
PETUNJUK
The sentence should be
parallel.
PEMBAHASAN
Jawaban A
Parallel structure means using the same grammatical pattern in a sentence. After the word to, the verb should be in its present form. Thus, the answer should be ‘find’. Then, ‘word meanings’ is a noun, so the rest should be noun as well. There is no need to add other form of verb.
SOAL 7
Identify the error in the sentence.
Either I like the subject or I didn’t, I have to take it.
A. didn't
B. have to
C. either
D. like
E. or
PETUNJUK
Hint:
Which word does not make the sentence parallel?
PEMBAHASAN
Jawaban A
It should be
“Either I like the subject
or I do not” or
“Either I like the subject
or not”.
The
sentence is in the present form, thus the rest of the sentence should be in the
present form as well. Didn’t is the past form of the word do not/does not, it
makes the sentence not parallel.
SOAL 8
Change the sentence so it becomes parallel.
She has to choose between a new car or going to Europe.
A. She has to choose between a new car or a trip to Europe.
B. She has to choose between buying a new car or a trip to Europe.
C. She has to choose between a new car or going to Europe.
D. She has to choose between buying a new car or go to Europe.
E. She has to choose between a new car or go to Europe.
PETUNJUK
The
sentence has parallel structure.
PEMBAHASAN
Jawaban A
Since
the sentence should be parallel, all the words or phrases should have the same
grammatical pattern. To reform education, health care services, and preserve
social security. The word education is a noun, thus the rest of the sentence
should be using noun as well. Preserve here is a verb, so it is not correct.
SOAL 9
During the election, one of the candidates promised to reform
education, health care services, and preserve social security.
The error in the sentence above is ….
A. preserve social security
B. health care services
C. to reform education
D. one of the candidates promised
E. During the election
PETUNJUK
The
sentence has parallel structure.
PEMBAHASAN
Jawaban A
Since
the sentence should be parallel, all the words or phrases should have the same
grammatical pattern. To reform education, health care
services, and
preserve social security. The word education is a noun, thus the
rest of the sentence should be using noun as well. Preserve here is a verb, so
it is not correct.
SOAL
10
You have a really big
swimming competition next week. Your coach gave you some advice. Here are the
advice that he gave you:
1. Get enough sleep
2. Do not eat too much
3. Exercise before the
game
Make a sentence that sums up your coach’s advice. The sentence should be parallel ….
A. My coach told me that I should get enough sleep, not eat too much, and do some exercise before the game.
B. My coach told me that I should be getting enough sleep, not eating too much, and exercise before the game.
C. My coach told me that I should getting enough sleep, not eat too much, and exercising before the game.
D. My coach told me that I should get enough sleep, do not eat too much, and doing some exercise before the game.
E. My coach told me that I should get enough sleep, do not eating too much, and doing some exercise before the game.
PETUNJUK
The grammatical
pattern should be the same.
PEMBAHASAN
Jawaban A
After the modal verb should, the next word should be the present form of verb. Thus, the next words or phrases should also use present form of verb.
Jawablah pertanyaan-pertanyaan berikut dengan jujur dan bertanggungjawab!
| No. | Pertanyaan | Jawaban | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | Saya mengetahui arti kata-kata pada pada teks di atas |
Ya | Tidak |
| 02. | Saya bisa mengucapkan kata-kata sesuai dengan audio/video yang disajikan |
Ya | Tidak |
| 03. | Saya bisa memperagakan percakapan dengan membaca teks yang tersedia |
Ya | Tidak |
| 04. | Saya bisa memperagakan percakapan dengan sedikit membaca teks |
Ya | Tidak |
| 05. | Saya bisa memperagakan tanpa membaca teks |
Ya | Tidak |
| 06. | Saya bisa memperagakan tanpa membaca teks disertai dengan variasi baru atau pengembangan teks |
Ya | Tidak |
| 07. | Saya bisa membuat karya video terkait dengan percakapan yang diperagakan |
Ya | Tidak |
| 08. | Saya bisa membuat video dan telah disosialisasikan pada sosial media yang saya miliki |
Ya | Tidak |
Bila ada jawaban "Tidak", maka segera lakukan review pembelajaran, terutama pada bagian yang masih "Tidak".
Bila semua jawaban "Ya", maka Anda dapat melanjutkan ke pembelajaran berikutnya.
Buatlah jurnal harian untuk membantumu dalam mempercepat proses pembelajaran dengan menjawab soal evaluasi diri berikut ini.
- Apakah yang kamu telah pelajari pada bagian ini?
- Apa yang menarik pada sesi ini?
- Apa kendala yang kamu alami?
- Apa yang kamu lakukan untuk mengatasi kendala tersebut?
