Faulty Parallelism 5.2 Flashcards
Faulty Parallelism
Occurs when sentences feature inconsistently constructed clauses.
Subjunctive mood
Express a hypothetical, wish or non-real situation with conditional sentences. Use the verb were.
Ex/ If I were rich, I would travel the world.
Always try to use were over was.
Subjunctive mood rules
- Use the base form of the verb.
- Express a hypothetical or non-real situation with conditional sentences.
- Use independent clauses like: if, whether, as if, as though, suppose, lest, that
- Use after verbs and expressions that express a wish, suggestion or command: suggest, recommend, demand, request, insist, propose, recommend, move, resolve
- Never use in formal writing.
- Avoid using in past tense.
Ex/
If I were rich, I would buy a desert island.
Faulty Parallelism examples are…
Mixed verb tenses
Ex/ Lauren takes a run up and jumped over the wall.
Mixed infinitives and gerunds
Ex/ Duncan likes dancing and to sing.
Mixed nouns, adjectives and adverbs
Ex/ Previous managerial techniques were expensive and a waste.
Mixed plural and singular nouns
Ex/ Side effects may include twitches and a headache.
Parallelism in lists
Ex/ Respondents were asked if they prefer to run, to walk or swimming as a form of exercise.
Parallelism in Technical writing
It’s important for clarity. Repetition might sound unusual, but the use of parallel constructed clauses remove ambiguity.
Ex/ The manganese was placed into a glass beaker at room temperature, and the sulphate and calcium were placed into similar beakers and refrigerated to 2°C.
similar beakers should be changed to glass beakers for clarity
What is a Gerund
A verb ending in -ing and is used as a noun.
Walking, traveling, voting
It can function as the subject of a sentence or the object of a verb.
Ex/
She is afraid of flying.
What is an infinitive
Is the base form of a verb preceded by “to”
To walk, to travel, to vote
It can function as the subject of a sentence or the object of a verb.
