Parallel ideas with correlative conjunctions (either . . . or, etc.)

Correlative conjunctions come in pairs: either . . . or, not only . . . but also, and so on. Make sure that the grammatical structure following the second half of the pair is the same as that following the first half.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Thomas Edison was not only a prolific inventor but also was a successful entrepreneur. Revised sentence: Thomas Edison was not only a prolific inventor but also a successful entrepreneur. Explanation: The word

The words a prolific inventor follow not only, so a successful entrepreneur should follow but also. Repeating was creates an unbalanced effect.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: The clerk told me either to change my flight or take the train. Revised sentence: The clerk told me either to change my flight or to take the train. Explanation: The word

To change my flight, which follows either, should be balanced with to take the train, which follows or.

Exercises:

Identifying parallel structure

Parallelism 1

Parallelism 2

Parallelism 3

Parallelism 4