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Parallelism with correlative conjunctions

Parallelism is a tool that writers use to create balanced sentences. This balance helps readers understand what they are reading because they know what to expect and can clearly see the connections between ideas.

What is parallelism?

A sentence is parallel when a series of items listed share the same grammatical structure:

Melissa hoped to graduate from college, find a job and buy a car.
[These are all infinitive phrases sharing to.]

For more information on basic parallelism, read Parallelism: items in a series.

How do I use parallelism with correlative conjunctions?

A correlative conjunction is a two-part conjunction: it consists of two words or phrases that are used to join sentence elements of equal value. The most common correlative conjunctions are as follows:

both… and
either… or
neither… nor
not only… but also
both… and

Because both parts of the sentence are of equal value, it is important to write them using the same grammatical structures.

Let's look at examples of faulty and correct parallelism with these correlative conjunctions:

both…and

faulty:
You should both enter the date and the time.
[both is followed by a verb (enter); and is followed by a noun
(the time)]

correct:
You should enter both the date and the time.
[both and and are followed by a noun]

either…or

faulty:
Students must either register by phone or by email.
[either is followed by a verb phrase (register by phone);
or is followed by a prepositional phrase (by email)]

correct:
You must register either by phone or by email.
[either and or are followed by a prepositional phrase]

neither…nor

faulty:
Neither a money withdrawal nor making a bill payment is difficult with the new system.
[neither is followed by a noun; nor is followed by an –ing phrase]

correct:
Neither a money withdrawal nor a bill payment is difficult with the new system.
[neither and nor are followed by nouns]

not only…but also

faulty:
It is important to not only know the law but also to follow it.
[not only is followed by the second part of an infinitive (know); but also is followed by a complete infinitive (to follow)]

correct:
It is important not only to know the law but also to follow it.
[not only and but also are followed by a complete infinitive]

Date Modified: 2012-03-29

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