Parallel structure

Parallel structure (parallelism) means items that do the same job in a sentence take the same grammatical form. It makes lists and comparisons easy to follow.

See it work

Make the list match:

She likes hiking, swimming and to cycle.

✗ Two -ing words and one "to" form. The reader stumbles on the last item.

With paired words:

The job is not only well paid but also you can work from home.

✗ An adjective phrase is paired with a whole clause.

In lists

She likes hiking, swimming and to cycle ✗ → hiking, swimming and cycling.

With paired conjunctions

Both … and, either … or, neither … nor and not only … but also should be followed by matching forms: She is not only talented but also hard-working.

In comparisons

Skiing is harder than to snowboard ✗ → Skiing is harder than snowboarding.

In bullet points and headings

Start every bullet with the same kind of word (all verbs, or all nouns). Résumés are the classic place this slips.

Frequently asked

Why does parallelism matter?

Readers expect matching items to look alike. A mismatch makes them re-read, and in formal writing it looks careless.