Parallelism and Sentence Problems | Đại học Ngoại ngữ - Tin học Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

said that he was enjoying himself but that he was a little homesick when
asked about his life in the United States. It sounds as if he is homesick only
when he is asked about his life in the United States.)
Asked about his life in the United States, he said that he was enjoying
himself but that he was a little homesick. UNIT 5: PARALLELISM
Parallelism means that the sentence structures should be grammatically balanced. It is the
repetition of grammatical patterns (word forms) within a sentence or a series of sentences. By using
similar grammatical forms to express equal ideas, your sentences will flow smoothly, and your writing style will improve. Examples of parallel elements
Examples of not parallel elements Words and Phrases
• With the -ing form (gerund): Parallel:
Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling.
Not Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to ride a bicycle.
• With infinitive phrases: Parallel:
Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a bicycle.
Not Parallel: Mary likes to hike, swimming, and to ride a bicycle.
• With adverbial phrases: Parallel:
The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and thoroughly.
Not Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and in a
detailed manner. Clauses Parallel:
The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not
eat too much, and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game.
— Or —
The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, not eat too much, and
do some warm-up exercises before the game. 15
Not Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat
too much, and to do some warm-up exercises before the game. Lists After a Colon Parallel:
The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings,
pronunciations, correct spellings, and irregular verbs.
Not Parallel: The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings, pronunciations,
correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs.
Coordinating Conjunctions- and, or, but Parallel:
I enjoy biking and walking down by the pier. (additional information) Not Parallel:
I enjoy biking and to walk down by the pier. Parallel:
Boy Scouts at the camp can learn cooking, canoeing, swimming, or rope- making. (options) Not Parallel:
Boy Scouts at the camp can learn cooking, canoeing, swimming, or how to make ropes. Parallel:
The states regulate the noise created by motor vehicles but not by commercial aircraft. Not Parallel:
The states regulate the noise created by motor vehicles but not commercial aircraft.
I like chocolate but not ice cream.
I like chocolate and ice cream.
I like chocolate or ice cream.
Correlative Conjunctions: both………..and, either…..or, neither…….nor, not only……but also.
• We were told to either reduce the staff or find new customers. (Vb)
→ We were told either to reduce the staff or to find new customers. (V-inf)
• Agnes was neither going to classes nor doing her assignments.
• I would like to buy both a new house and a new car.
• As young recruits, we were told not only what to do but also what to think.
UNIT 6: SENTENCE PROBLEMS 1. Sentence Fragments
Fragment sentences are unfinished sentences, i.e. they don't contain a complete idea. A common
fragment sentence is a dependent clause standing alone without an independent clause.
• I don't think I'm going to get a good grade. Because I didn't study.
( I think I am not going to get a good grade.
I don’t think he’s handsome.
I think he’s not handsome.)
• She got angry and shouted at the teacher. Which wasn't a very good idea.
She got angry and shouted at the teacher, which wasn’t a very good idea.
In this class, I like a friend who is smart and sensitive. in this class. who is smart and sensitive.
• She got up and ran out of the library. Slamming the door behind her.
• I have to write a report on Albert Einstein. The famous scientist who left Europe to live in the USA.
Study the following four examples of sentence fragments and the suggested methods for correcting them.
Fragment 1: Because Some students have part-time jobs in addition to going to school.
Problem: This is a subordinate clause (an adverb clause of reason).
To correct: Attach it to an independent clause.
Complete Sentence: Because some students have part-time jobs in addition to going to school, they have very little free time. 16 Fragment 2:
For example, the increase in the cost of renting an apartment. Problem: No main verb
To correct: Rewrite the sentence so that it has a subject and a verb.
Complete Sentence: For example, the cost of renting an apartment has increased.
Fragment 3: Having no money and being lonely in the big city are so sad.
Problem: This is a participial phrase. It has no subject or verb.
To correct: (a) Rewrite the phrase to include a subject and a verb.
(b) Attach the phrase to an independent clause. Complete Sentences:
(a) She had no money and was lonely in the big city.
(b) Having no money and being lonely in the big city, the woman committed suicide.
Fragment 4: Many people who get married before they are mature enough are entering the workfore.
Problem: This is a noun followed by a dependent (adjective) clause.
To correct: Rewrite the clause by eliminating the adjective clause aspect.
Complete Sentence: Many people get married before they are mature enough.
2. Choppy Sentences
Choppy sentences are sentences that are too short. They are the result of using too many simple
sentences, like those that follow. Although simple sentences are quite effective sometimes, overuse of
them is considered poor style in academic writing. Example:
a.Choppy: I sewed a set of buttons onto my coat. The buttons were shiny. The buttons were black. The
coat was old. The coat was green.
Correct: I sewed a set of shiny black buttons onto my old green coat.
b.Choppy: Martha moved in the desk chair. Her moving was uneasy. The chair was hard. She worked at
her assignment. The assignment was for her English class. Correct:
• Martha moved uneasily in the hard desk chair, working at the assignment for her English class.
• Moving uneasily in the desk chair, Martha worked at her assignment for her English class.
• Martha moved uneasily in the hard desk chair as she worked at her assignment for her English class.
• While she worked at the assignment for her English class, Martha moved uneasily in the hard desk chair.
Choppy sentences are easy to correct. Just combine two or three simple sentences to make one
compound or complex sentence. Your decision to make one compound or a complex sentence should be
based on whether the ideas in the simple sentences are equal or whether one sentence is dependent on the other.
▪ If the simple sentences are equal, make a compound sentence, using a coordinating conjunction
(for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) or a conjunctive adverb (moreover, however, otherwise, therefore, etc.)
▪ If one sentence depends on the other, make a complex sentence, using a subordinating conjunction
(who, which, when, although, because, since, if, etc.)
3. Run-On Sentences and Comma Splices
A run-on sentence is a sentence in which two or more independent clauses are written one after
another with no punctuation.
I went to Paris in the vacation it is the most beautiful place I have ever visited. 17
Getting married is easy staying married is a different matter.
A comma splice is a sentence in which two independent clauses are incorrectly joined by a
comma without a coordinating conjunction.
I like our new math teacher, for she always explains the work very clearly.
He was late to school again. His bus got caught in heavy traffic.
A run-on/ comma splice can be corrected by adding: • A period
Getting married is easy. Staying married is a different matter. • A semicolon
Getting married is easy; staying married is a different matter. (additional information)
• A coordinating conjunction
Getting married is easy, but staying married is a different matter.
I don’t see this problem is so serious, but you might see it in different ways.
• A subordinating conjunction
Although getting married is easy, staying married is a different matter. 4. Stringy Sentences
A stringy sentence is a sentence made up of many clauses, often connected by a coordinating
conjunction such as and, or, so, and because, forming one very long sentence.
• John usually gets up before 7 o'clock, but yesterday his alarm clock did not ring. He was still
asleep when his boss called him at 10.30 to ask where he was. The boss told him that he would
lose his job if he was late again.
• Although the blue whale has been protected for over 30 years and its numbers are increasing,
especially in the North Pacific, where whale hunting has been banned, it is still at risk of
extinction as its habitat is being polluted by waste from oil tankers and its main food, the
plankton, is being killed off by harmful rays from the sun, which can penetrate the earth's
atmosphere because there is a huge hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica.
Task 5: Improve these stringy sentences.
1. He enrolled in an advanced calculus class, but he found it too difficult, so he dropped it.
2. The tidal wave ruined the crops, and it destroyed several villages, and it caused many deaths, so it was a real disaster.
3. The analysts worked many hours on the computer program, but they couldn’t find the cause of the
problem, so they finally gave up, and they went home.
4. Junk food is bad for your health, and it also contains no vitamins, and it damages your stomach, so people shouldn’t eat it.
5. The lack of rainfall has caused a severe water shortage, so people have to conserve water
everyday, and they also have to think of new ways to reuse water, but the situation is improving. UNIT 7: PUNCTUATION I. End punctuation
Periods, question marks, and exclamation points signal the end of a sentence.
• Use a period to terminate plain assertions or commands;
Don’t do that – Please sit here – Do this for me.
• Use a question mark to terminate interrogative statements;
• Use an exclamation point to terminate strongly emotional assertions or ejaculations.
Ordinarily, the character of the sentence dictates the proper end punctuation. Occasionally,
however, you must determine for yourself just what you intend the character of a sentence to be. Notice
the different intentions behind the three sentences: 18