英语语法：58 Use Parallel Construction Correctly

Grammar Girl here.

This week we have a new guest writer, Rob Reinalda, who is going to help us look at something called a false series. You may ask, “What the heck is that?” We’ll find out in a moment.

A Parallel Construction Problem: the False Series

A common problem in writing today is the false series. It happens when a writer combines three or more seemingly related elements in a series, but the syntax is wrong. When you get the sentence right, you're said to be using parallel construction.

Huh?

OK, here’s an example: “Today I will tidy up the bedroom, the living room, and wallpaper the cat.”

Sounds like a series of three things to accomplish. And yet, there’s something off.   The construction doesn’t quite work. It’s as simple to detect as Sesame Street’s “One of these things is not like the other.”

Let’s break it down to see how and why.

A Proper Series

In a series, we list three (or more) things that serve a common purpose within a sentence: “I’m going out to buy an anvil¹, a lava² lamp, and three dozen kumquats.” Each of the elements, despite their being disparate items, performs the same function, that of the object of the verb form “will buy.” I will buy an anvil. I will buy a lava lamp. I will buy three dozen kumquats. You could bullet-point them, if you so chose.

Similarly, in the sentence, “A koala, a giraffe, and a llama walk into a bar,” each of the three serves as the subject of the verb “walk.” (The punch line, if you care is, “The bartender says, ‘What is this? A joke?’ ” But we digress.)

 A False Series
In the original example, “Today I will tidy up the bedroom, the living room, and wallpaper the cat,” such is not the case; there's a disconnect.
 
Today I will tidy up:
(a)    the bedroom
(b)   the living room
(c)    wallpaper the cat.
 
Today I will tidy up wallpaper the cat? Hmmm. Unless the cat’s name is Wallpaper and she needs some grooming³, it doesn’t work.
 
Nor does the following:
 
Today I will:
(a)    tidy up the bedroom
(b)   the living room
(c)    wallpaper the cat.
In this case, you’d end up with the following: I will the living room. Wow. That feels kind of like hitting the floor thinking there’s one extra step as you descend⁴ a staircase.

The Fix

So here’s this week’s quick and dirty tip for handling a series, and it’s a common theme when dealing⁵ with multiple elements: break down the components⁶, and make sure they work individually before combining them.

This is how the corrected sentence might read: Today I will tidy up the bedroom, neaten the living room, and wallpaper the cat.

Adding the verb “neaten” before “the living room” makes the construction parallel after “I will.”

Every bit as clear and a bit more concise⁷ would be to eliminate the series altogether: Today I will tidy up the bedroom and the living room and wallpaper the cat. The words “the bedroom” and “the living room” become the objects of the verb “tidy, and then “wallpaper” becomes the second verb in the sentence, and “the cat” is its object: today I will tidy up the bedroom and the living room and wallpaper the cat.

Disclaimer

Note: no actual cats were wallpapered during the making of this podcast.

Nutrition Diva

Nutrition Diva is celebrating her first birthday. To mark the occasion, we are running a month long sweepstake. Visit quickanddirtytips.com and enter to win prizes including a Soda⁸ Stream soda maker⁹, You Bars custom-made healthy treats, and books such as Marion Nestle's What to Eat.

Ragan.com

This podcast was written by Rob Reinalda, executive editor for Ragan Communications (@word_czar on Twitter), and I'm Mignon Fogarty, the author of the paperback¹⁰ book Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, and I'm @grammargirl on Twitter.

That's all. Thank for listening.

 

1 anvil   

n.铁钻

参考例句：

• The blacksmith shaped a horseshoe on his anvil.铁匠在他的铁砧上打出一个马蹄形。
• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly.订书机上的铁砧安装错位。

2 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

3 grooming   

n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发

参考例句：

• You should always pay attention to personal grooming. 你应随时注意个人仪容。
• We watched two apes grooming each other. 我们看两只猩猩在互相理毛。

4 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

7 concise   

adj.简洁的，简明的

参考例句：

• The explanation in this dictionary is concise and to the point.这部词典里的释义简明扼要。
• I gave a concise answer about this.我对于此事给了一个简要的答复。

8 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

9 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

10 paperback   

n.平装本，简装本

参考例句：

• A paperback edition is now available at bookshops.平装本现在在书店可以买到。
• Many books that are out of print are reissued in paperback form.许多绝版的书籍又以平装本形式重新出现。