Parallel Structure in Lists
Lists come up in writing all the time when you want to keep together multiple items. They can be made up of words, phrases, or entire clauses. For the list to make the most sense and flow well, each item in the list needs to be parallel to the others. This means each item of the list must make sense independently with the list introduction. That’s confusing. Here’s an example.
At the store, I need to get bananas, green chiles, and bread.
This list is parallel because each item works independently with the list introduction (the part of the sentence introducing the list):
At the store, I need to get bananas.
At the store, I need to get green chiles.
At the store, I need to get bread.
Here’s an example of a list that isn’t parallel.
When I get home, I need to empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, the dog is probably hungry, so I’ll feed him, and my sister wants help with her homework.
If we break up each item of this list and pair it with the list introduction (When I get home, I need to), we can check if it’s parallel. If any of the sentences don’t make sense, the list is not parallel.
When I get home, I need to empty the dishwasher.
When I get home, I need to take out the trash.
When I get home, I need to the dog is probably hungry, so I’ll feed him.
When I get home, I need to my sister wants help with her homework.
The first two sentences make sense. The latter two do not. Let’s adjust those individual sentences so they work with the list introduction.
When I get home, I need to feed the dog since he is probably hungry.
When I get home, I need to help my sister with her homework because she asked me to.
Now if we put the list back together, it looks like this:
When I get home, I need to empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, feed the dog since he is probably hungry, and help my sister with her homework because she asked me to.
It reads so much better this way, and it’s clear who the subject is and what they’re doing (or need to do).
If you’re unsure how to fix a sentence to make it parallel, look at the part of speech each list item starts with. They should all be the same (verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc.).
At the store, I need to get bananas, green chiles, and bread. (All nouns: bananas, green chiles, bread.)
When I get home, I need to empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, feed the dog since he is probably hungry, and help my sister with her homework because she asked me to. (All verbs: empty, take, feed, help.)
Keep in mind there’s more than one way to reword a sentence and make the list parallel. There is no one right answer.
Let’s try another example.
The house still would have had a positive cash flow from rental income, a tax write-off, and a home that was still appreciating, and the kids would have gone to college.
When we break up each item of the list and pair it with the list introduction, this is what we get.
The house still would have had a positive cash flow from rental income.
The house still would have a tax write-off.
The house still would have a home that was still appreciating.
The house still would have the kids would have gone to college.
The first one makes sense, but the other three don’t. If I adjust each item to start with a verb like the first one, we get this.
The house still would have had a positive cash flow from rental income.
The house still would have been a tax write-off.
The house still would have continued appreciating.
The kids would have gone to college. [This one had a different subject—the kids rather than the house—so I made it a separate independent clause, not part of the list. I’ll join this to the main sentence with a comma and conjunction.]
Now add it all together for a final, flowing sentence.
The house still would have had a positive cash flow from rental income, been a tax write-off, and continued appreciating, and the kids would have gone to college.
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