Parallel structure

Whenever a sentence coordinates items — with and, or, but, than, or a paired conjunction — readers expect each item to arrive in the same grammatical shape: noun with noun, gerund with gerund, clause with clause. That expectation is parallel structure, and meeting it is what makes a sentence feel balanced.

Break the pattern and the sentence stumbles even if every word is individually correct: 'The city is lively, affordable and has friendly people' forces the reader to re-parse mid-list. Repair it by matching the forms: 'lively, affordable and friendly.'

• Good managers delegate clearly, listen patiently and decide quickly.(three matching verb + adverb pairs)
• The course covers listening, reading and note-taking.(three matching nouns)
• The flat is bright, quiet and costs very little.(→ bright, quiet and cheap — three adjectives)

Pick the grammatical form of the first item and keep it for every later item: gerund with gerund, noun with noun, clause with clause. Mixed lists usually appear when a writer bolts on one extra idea in a hurry — the third item is where parallelism most often dies.

Length may vary as long as the skeleton repeats. A list of three verb-ing phrases can mix items of three words and thirteen; readers track the pattern, not the word count.

• The retreat offers hiking, kayaking and stargazing.(three gerunds)
• The report recommends raising the levy, tightening inspections and publishing the results.(same skeleton, different lengths)
• The course teaches grammar, essay writing and how to pronounce difficult words.(→ grammar, essay writing and pronunciation)

Paired (correlative) conjunctions are a frame: whatever grammar follows the first half must follow the second half too. 'Either postpone the trip or cancel it' balances verb against verb; 'both the syllabus and the timetable' balances noun against noun.

The commonest slip is planting the first marker too early, so that it captures the verb: 'She both speaks Arabic and French' puts a verb after both but a bare noun after and. Slide the marker along until the halves match: 'She speaks both Arabic and French.'

• You can either pay the fine online or contest it in person.(verb phrase balances verb phrase)
• The museum is popular with both tourists and local families.
• The scheme will neither help commuters nor cyclists.(→ will help neither commuters nor cyclists)

Than and as are balancing scales: put the same kind of phrase on each side. 'Working in a team is better than working alone' weighs gerund against gerund; slipping an infinitive onto one side — 'better than to work alone' — tips the scale.

Comparisons must also match logically, not just grammatically. 'Rents in Hanoi are lower than Singapore' accidentally compares rents with a city; the parallel version compares rents with rents: 'lower than in Singapore'.

• Studying with a partner suits me better than studying alone.(gerund balances gerund)
• Rents in Hanoi are lower than in Singapore.(rents compared with rents)
• Travelling by metro is quicker than the bus.(→ quicker than taking the bus)

Parallelism sits exactly where the IELTS Writing criteria meet: a broken list is a grammar error under Grammatical Range and Accuracy, while a controlled one improves Coherence and Cohesion at no extra cost. Long Band 8 sentences are usually long because parallelism holds them together, not because the writer risked extra clauses.

It also protects you under time pressure. A parallel skeleton written into your plan — verb, verb, verb — almost fills itself in, and each repetition is a structure you have effectively proofread once already.

• A good thesis names the problem, takes a position and previews the reasons.(parallel triple in an introduction)
• The council promised to widen the cycle lanes, resurface the ring road and pedestrianise the old town.(three parallel infinitive complements)
• Remote work saves time, cuts costs and employees are happier.(→ and boosts morale — keep verb + object)