Similar
elements in a list should be in similar form. Writers
often use a parallel structure for dissimilar items. Parallel
constructions must be expressed in parallel grammatical form:
all nouns, all infinitives, all gerunds, all prepositional phrases,
or all clauses must agree.
wrong: All business students should learn
word processing, accounting, and how to program computers.
right: All business students
should learn word processing, accounting, and computer programming.
This
principle applies to any words that might begin each item in
a series: prepositions (in, on, by, with), articles (the,
a, an), helping verbs (had, has, would) and possessives
(his, her, our). Either repeat the word before every element
in a series or include it only before the first item. Anything
else violates the rules of parallelism.
In
effect, your treatment of the second element of the series determines
the form of all subsequent elements:
wrong: He invested his money in stocks, in
real estate, and a home for retired performers.
right: He invested his money
in stocks, in real estate, and in a home for retired performers.
When
proofreading, check that each item in the series agrees with
the word or phrase that begins the series. In the above example,
"invested his money" is the common phrase that each
item shares. You would read, "He invested his money in real
estate, (invested his money) in stocks, and (invested his money)
in a home for retired performers."
w D. Pronoun Agreement
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