Parallel Structure Essay

Penn 1

Treana Penn
English 201B M/W
May 25 2009

Pidd’s Ticket For Nonparallel Writing

Pidd has trouble maintaining parallel structure in his title. He writes, “Donna Rama: Guano Queen or Maker of Trouble” (1). The two noun phrases “Guano Queen” and “Maker of Trouble” lack parallel structure in the title. They are nonparallel, because they are different parts of speeches. Pidd first option to make the sentence parallel is to change the second noun phrase to an adjective phrase. The correct sentence will read “Donna Rama: Guano Queen or Trouble Maker?”

Pidd does not match up the verb phrases. He writes, “ Donna likes to read thick books with no pictures and expressing contrary views about hair-care products and revolutionary psychology” (1). The two verbs “likes to read” and “expressing contrary views” lack parallel structure. They are non parallel, because one verb phrase is infinitive and the other is a present participle. Pidd make the sentence parallel by changing both verb phrases into infinitive form. Pidd can also change the sentence by turning both verb phrases into present participle form. The correct sentence will read, “Donna likes to read thick books with no pictures and to express contrary views about hair care products”

Pidd’s noun phrases are nonparallel . He states, “but she is so pretty so people don’t mind listening most of the time.” (1). The two noun phrases that lack parallel structure are “she is so pretty” and “so people don’t mind listening most of the time.” They are nonparallel , because one is a noun phrase and one is a present particle phrase. He can change the sentence structure to both phrases into adjective noun phrases. Pidd can also make the sentence parallel by changing the sentence structure to both phrases into a present participle phrases. The correct sentence will read, “but she is pretty so people don’t mind listening to what she has to say most of the time.”

Pidd clauses lacks parallel structure. He states, “People balked; people gaped; cries were heard. The clause “cries were heard” lacks parallel structure. It is not parallel, because it is not clause that matches with the other clauses. He can change the verb phrase into an infinitive clause. The correct sentence will read, “People balked; people gaped; and people heard cries.”

Pidd’s essay contains more non-parallel noun phrases. He writes, “By giving up the crown, Donna would be giving up Lud’s scholarship money and adulation from the town.” (2). The two noun phrases lack parallel structure, “adulation from the town” and “Donna would be giving up Lud’s scholarship money”. Pidd has two options to correct the sentence he can either make the sentence all present participle or infinitive. The correct sentence will read, “By giving up the crown, By Donna giving up Lud’s scholarship money and by adulating the town.”

Pidd’s series of modifiers lack parallel structure. He writes, “A girl who was pretty, smart, and came from a low-income family just did not turn down the Bat Guano Queen crown.” The modifier “A girl who was pretty” lacks parallel structure. It is non-parallel, because it is not an adjective phrase unlike the other modifiers. Pidd can make the series parallel by making the last modifier parallel with the other modifiers. The correct sentence will read, “A girl was pretty, smart, and came from a low-income family just did not turn
down the Bat Gauno Queen Crown.”

Pidd has trouble making his subject complements parallel. He states, “It was funny: My pal Donna was mad for being good-looking while my cousin Willimina was feeling depressed for not being pretty enough.” (2). The subject compliment “My pal Donna was mad for being good looking” and “ my cousin Willimina was feeling depressed.”. They are non-parallel, because one phrase is present particle and the other phrase is an adjective phrase. By turning both phrases into present prepositional it will make the subjects complements parallel. The correct sentence will read, “ It was funny: My pal Donna was mad for being good-looking while my cousin Willimina was depressed for not being pretty enough.”

Pidd fails to make his last series of clauses parallel. The clauses that lack parallel structure, “ you can also buy Chinese” and “ if you can get a good deal at the BeauGus Superstore”. They are non parallel, because the sentence structure of phrases do not match. Pidd can make the clauses parallel, by making them all present participle. The correct sentence will read, “Buy American, buy a lot, and you can also buy Chinese, if you can get a good deal at the BeauGus Superstore.”