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Building Parallelism
Grammar Exercises

Make sure you read all possible answers before you make a selection. In addition, make sure you study the feedback you get based on your answer. You will be told much more than simply whether you were right or wrong. Even if you get the answer right, be sure to read carefully the feedback you are given.

1 .       Parallelism is _________. 

 A. The expression of similar or related ideas in similar grammatical form
 B. The expression of different ideas in different grammatical form
 C. The expression of similar ideas in such a way as to make sentences significantly more complex
 D. None of these


2 .       Which are the parallel items in this sentence? Jim and Mike would rather have a lunch or a chat with the new shift supervisor than sit through the self-congratulatory diatribes, boring stories, and useless digressions of Jacob Smith. 

 A. "Jim and Mike"
 B. "A lunch or a chat"
 C. "Self-congratulatory diatribes, boring stories, and useless digressions"
 D. All of these are sets of parallel items.


3 .       Which is an example of incomplete or faulty parallelism? 

 A. Camping allows you the opportunity to enjoy nature, learning how to "rough it," and discover how to set up a tent.
 B. Dancing is an adventure in exercise and, for me, a study in humiliation.
 C. Please refrain from taking your lunch break in the lounge and leaving your dishes on the table for someone else to discover, wash, and put away.
 D. None of these are incomplete or faulty.


4 .       Can you recognize which is correct? 

 A. I love to travel to Minnesota in the summer, Florida in the winter, and Paris in the fall.
 B. I love to travel to Minnesota in the summer, to Florida in the winter, and to Paris in the fall.
 C. Both of the above are correct.
 D. None of the above is correct.


5 .       Which below is most correct from a parallelism perspective? 

 A. While the company is active in the community and organizing fund-raisers for local neighborhoods, it will be closing its doors Friday.
 B. While the company is active in the community and useful in organizing fund-raisers for local neighborhoods, it will be closing its doors Friday.
 C. Both of the above are acceptable.
 D. None of the above is acceptable.


6 .       Which of these are correlative conjunctions? 

 A. And
 B. Or
 C. Not only…but also
 D. All of these are correlative conjunctions.


7 .       One of the following statements about parallel paragraphs is untrue. Which one? 

 A. Parallel paragraphs are faulty and should be avoided because of the redundancy they create.
 B. Parallel paragraphs alert readers to your line of argument.
 C. Parallel paragraphs reinforce the overall pattern of a report or essay.
 D. All these statements are true.


8 .       Which word is most responsible for the subtle parallelism problem in the following sentence? “The new employee is especially good at planning presentations, researching projects, and gives 150% every day of the week.” 

 A. Is
 B. Gives
 C. Planning
 D. None


9 .       Which word or phrase is most responsible for the parallelism problem in the following sentence? Jack decided that he would like traveling in Europe or a cruise. 

 A. A cruise
 B. That he would like
 C. Would like
 D. None


10 .       Which word or phrase is most responsible for the parallelism problem in the following sentence? “The CEO was convinced the plan was viable, profitable, and it could be expanded over the next 6 years.” 

 A. The CEO
 B. Was convinced
 C. It could be expanded
 D. All of these contribute to faulty parallelism.






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