parallelism
"I want to be loved, happy, and not settle for something less than we all deserve." - Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer has made an error in parallelism. She has listed three items that follow the infinitive "to be," but two are adjectives and one is an infinitive phrase. Similar items in a series should be structured in a similar way.
These are the things Jennifer wants:
- to be loved [The word "loved" is a participle; it is a verb form that functions as an adjective. The infinitive phrase "to be loved" makes sense.]
- (to be) happy [The word "happy" is an adjective. The infinitive "to be" is implied and the entire phrase "(to be) happy" makes sense.]
- (to be) not (to) settle for something less [The infinitive "to be" is implied. It does not make sense to follow "to be" with the infinitive phrase "not (to) settle for something less."]
Correct the sentence by restructuring the infinitive phrase "not to settle for something less" so that it is an adjective that can complete the list of how Jennifer would like to be ("loved," "happy," and an adjective form of "not settling for something less").
"I want to be loved, happy, and uncompromising."
parallelism,
pronouns,
who+that
Proper diction requires an understanding of words that are commonly misused. Understanding grammar errors can make them easier to identify and avoid.
"I was not the kind of artist that had my mommy hold my hand and my daddy managing my career." - Christina Aguilera in GQ
This sentence contains two errors: an error in pronoun choice and an error in parallelism.
This entry continues with an analysis and description of errors in the quote.
Continue reading "Usage: Christina chooses the wrong pronoun and makes an error in parallelism"
parallelism
"According to him, I have a lazy eye, a huge ear and my feet are completely deformed because of dancing." - Penelope Cruz, in People, on her brother Eduardo's list of her shortcomings
Penelope has made an error in parallelism. She has listed three things about herself, but two are noun phrases and one is an independent clause. Items in a list should have the same structure.
This is the list of what Eduardo thinks is wrong with Penelope:
- a lazy eye [This is a noun phrase: the noun "eye" is modified by the adjective "lazy."]
- a huge ear [This is a noun phrase: the noun "ear" is modified by the adjective "huge."]
- my feet are completely deformed because of dancing [This is an independent clause: the subject is "feet," the verb is "are," and the predicate adjective phrase is "completely deformed because of dancing."]
One way to correct the error is to change the independent clause to a noun phrase.
"According to him, I have a lazy eye, a huge ear, and deformed feet as a result of dancing."
This sentence has parallel structure.
Another way to correct the error is to combine the original noun phrases and create a compound object.
"According to him, I have a lazy eye and a huge ear, and my feet are completely deformed because of dancing."
This structure removes the list and combines two independent clauses through the use of a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
Penelope has made a curious statement: she has listed "a huge ear" among her traits. Does this mean she has one huge ear and one smaller ear? Is the Spanish idiom for large ears "a huge ear"? Was she speaking figuratively and describing her "huge ear" for music or something else aural? Did the interviewer hear her incorrectly and she actually said "huge ears"? We do not know the answers to these questions, but we welcome your input in the comments.
