Contoh Soal Grammar Highlight , Learning Paralel Structure

Contoh Soal Grammar Highlight , Learning Paralel Structure -

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.

S1

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 ….

S2

Global warming is affecting the ecosystem, environment, and ….

S3

We had to choose between going back or ... here.

The most suitable word to complete the sentence is ….

S4

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 ….

S5

All sentences are parallel, except ….

S6

We use dictionary to ….

S7

Identify the error in the sentence.

Either I like the subject or I didn’t, I have to take it.

S8

Change the sentence so it becomes parallel.

She has to choose between a new car or going to Europe.

S9

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 ….

S10

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 ….

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