3 Parallel-Structure Problems

3 Parallel-Structure Problems 3 Parallel-Structure Problems 3 Parallel-Structure Problems By Mark Nichol Each of the following sentences has an organizational flaw. A discussion of each is followed by a suggested revision. 1. People who are successful at careers in fashion design are hardworking, detail oriented, and love apparel. Each of the three qualities of successful fashion designers must be preceded by a verb, or they all must share one- or the first two must be connected by a conjunction in order to share one. Here, hardworking is supported by are and apparel follows love, but â€Å"detail oriented† is orphaned. The sentence must be restructured so that â€Å"detail oriented† shares are with hardworking: â€Å"People who are successful at careers in fashion design are hard working and detail oriented and love apparel.† (â€Å"People who are successful at careers in fashion design are hard working, are detail oriented, and love apparel† is also correct, but the first two qualities are closely related as terms that refer to aptitudes as opposed to the attitudinal quality of an interest in attire, so sharing of a conjunction seems more appropriate.) 2. Gluten has been blamed for everything from weight gain, bloating to mood issues such as depression. A list of factors must be organized as a list or a spectrum, but this sentence, although it is constructed to express a range of several factors, mixes the approaches. For consistency, the factors should be separated by prepositions only, without punctuation: â€Å"Gluten has been blamed for everything from weight gain to bloating to mood issues such as depression.† 3. Site users can be matched by location, gender, age, sexual orientation, and they’re encouraged to post a photo and personal description. The independent clause that follows the conjunction and is not part of the list in the preceding independent clause, which requires and before the final item in that list: â€Å"Site users can be matched by location, gender, age, and sexual orientation, and they’re encouraged to post a photo and personal description.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Grammar Test 1English Grammar 101: Verb MoodPredicate Complements