Repetition and parallelism

Repeating key words or ideas can emphasise points and make the text more cohesive. Parallelism, where similar grammatical structures are used, can also create a rhythm and link ideas together.

Like father, like son; he reads every morning, jogs every afternoon, and writes every evening.

The parallel structure is apparent in the repeated pattern of activities, each prefaced by every, followed by a time of day (morning, afternoon, evening), creating a balanced and rhythmic sentence. Notice too how parallelism requires repetition of the same part of speech (in this case three nouns morning/afternoon/evening and three verbs in the present simple – reads/jogs/writes).

Let’s take a look at some more examples.

Parallelism at the word level

She likes reading, writing and painting.

In this sentence, all the items in the list are gerunds (the -ing form of the verb used as a noun).

Parallelism at the phrase level

He was a prolific author, writing novels, creating poetry and crafting essays.

Here, all the items are present participial phrases (phrases beginning with an -ing verb).

Parallelism at the clause level

When I went to the park, I saw a bird, I found a lost toy and I met a friendly dog.

In this case, all the items in the list are independent clauses (a group of words that can stand alone as a sentence).

Parallelism using correlative conjunctions

A correlative conjunction is a paired conjunction that connects two equal parts of a sentence and shows the relationship between them. Common correlative conjunctions include the following:

either… or
not only… but also
neither… nor
whether… or
rather… than
both… and

Correlative conjunctions should follow the same grammatical structure to create a parallel sentence. Take a look at the following example:

Incorrect parallelism: We can neither wait for something to happen nor can we take evasive action.

Correct parallelism: We can neither wait for something to happen nor take evasive action.

Parallelism using commas and semi-colons without conjunctions

This is associated with more formal and literary texts and is a common feature in well-known speeches.

• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
• “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
• “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
• “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”