Parallelism, modifiers and word order

English (Précis and Composition) · Sentence correction. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Parallelism means that items doing the same job have the same form. In a list or a pair, check each item: all nouns, all -ing forms, or all to-infinitives. The same holds for the two halves of not only ... but also and either ... or.

A modifier must sit next to the word it describes. An opening phrase with -ing or -ed describes the subject that follows the comma. If that subject cannot do the action, the modifier is dangling and the sentence is wrong.

Lastly, look at word order and length. The best option is normally the shortest one that is grammatical and says nothing twice.

Rules to remember

Items in a list or pair take the same form: reading, writing and speaking; to read, to write and to speak.
The words after each half of a correlative pair match: speaks not only Urdu but also Sindhi.
An opening -ing or -ed phrase describes the subject that comes straight after the comma.
Place only, almost, nearly and even just before the word they limit.
Indirect question: statement order (I asked where he was). After never, rarely, seldom, hardly: auxiliary before subject (Never have I seen).
enough comes after an adjective or adverb (strong enough) and before a noun (enough money).
Cut repeated meaning: return back, repeat again, merge together, free gift, 'in my opinion I think'; write 'the reason is that', not 'the reason is because'.

Common mistake

Leaving an opening phrase without a doer, as in 'Having finished the paper, the bell rang'. Ask who finished the paper and make that person the subject after the comma.

Worked example

Which sentence is correct? (a) Entering the hall, the lights went off. (b) She not only speaks Urdu but also Sindhi. (c) Seldom we hear such honest words. (d) The officer was praised for his honesty, his patience and his courage.

(a) The lights did not enter the hall, so the opening phrase is dangling.
(b) 'not only' stands before a verb but 'but also' before a noun; it should be 'speaks not only Urdu but also Sindhi'.
(c) After 'seldom' the auxiliary comes first: 'Seldom do we hear'.
(d) The three items are all nouns with 'his', so the structure is parallel.

Answer: (d) The officer was praised for his honesty, his patience and his courage.

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