English Toolkit

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9.2Phrases that are not parallel
TYPICAL ERROR I like to play football and riding horses.
CORRECTION I like to play football and to ride horses.

EXPLANATION Notice that in the sentence above, to play and riding do not have the same structure. The expression to play is an infinitive verb; the word riding is a participle.

When listing words or phrases in a sentence, it is logical to list the same parts of speech or same grammatical structures. For example, we can make a list from infinitive verbs or we can make a list from participles:

  • I like to play football and to ride horses.
  • I like playing football and riding horses.

Because to play football and to ride horses have the same structure, we say that they are parallel phrases. Similarly, playing football and riding horses are also parallel phrases.

Complete these sentences so that the second half of the sentence is parallel to the first.
aEvery half-hour the nurse came in and rearranged my pillows, changed my dressing, to take my temperature and check the drip.



bAt some point, everybody lies, whether the lie is told to protect oneself, protecting someone else or the avoidance of emotional pain.



cAway from work, discovery means mastering new fields of knowledge and travel to new places.



dBushwalking, canoeing, watching movies and food are our favourite pastimes during the holidays.



eOur bumper harvest this year is due to consistent rainfall and because of the lack of cold weather.



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