Parallelism with that, which, and who

1
Parallelism with that, which, and who
Mini-Lesson 73 From the UWF Writing Labs 101
Grammar Mini-Lessons Series
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What is parallelism?

• The principle of parallelism requires that
  writers add or repeat words needed to complete
  compound structures.
• That is, words like that, which, and who often
  need to be repeated in the second half of a
  compound element, especially if there is any
  danger of misreading without the repetition of
  these words.
• Using and which, and who, and and that (or but
  which or but who) where there is no preceding who
  or which clause is a mistake many writers make.

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The secret to the parallelism test

• Make sure everything is the same!

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Parallelism with and that

• Incorrect
• Aunt Rosie said that she would fix her famous
  lasagna for my birthday dinner and she will also
  bake my favorite cake.
• Correct
• Aunt Rosie said that she would fix her famous
  lasagna for my birthday dinner and that she would
  also bake my favorite cake.

5
Parallelism with and which and but which

• Incorrect
• We finally replaced our old TV set, which we had
  bought secondhand and suffered from every known
  television ailment.
• Correct
• We finally replaced our old TV set, which we had
  bought secondhand and which suffered from every
  known television ailment.

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Parallelism with and who and but who

• Incorrect
• She is a person who has true compassion for
  animals, and she tries to find their owners.
• Correct
• She is a person who has true compassion or
  animals and who tries to find their owners.

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Practice

• Child psychologists believe that spanking
  children is not an effective discipline tool and
  time-outs allow the children and the parents a
  chance to think.
• Child psychologists believe that spanking
  children is not an effective discipline tool and
  that time-outs allow the children and the
  parents a chance to think.
• Some of the regulars are acquaintances whom we
  see at work and live in our community.
• Some of the regulars are acquaintances whom we
  see at work and who live in our community.