Parallel Structure of Words

Study the following sentences from the myth “Death, Life and Death.” Take note of the words in italics.

1. Not long afterward, the rooster broke into song, the tou-tou bird sang its first notes, and the dawn began to appear.
2. Alatangana was furious at the nonsense the messengers reported, but he was grateful for the gift that Sa has given.

What have you noticed from the italicized words?

You must have noticed that in both sentences, the words used to express the ideas are alike in function and construction. In the first sentence, the words broke, sang, and began are parallel since they are all verbs used in the past form. In the second sentence, the parallel structure is shown through the use of the adjectives furious and grateful.

Parallel structure refers to the use of grammatical elements or patterns that have the same function and express similar and balanced ideas. For example, if the first element in a group of words is a noun, then the following items should also be nouns; if it is a verb, then all the other items should also be verbs

The following are some examples:

• In this world lived only Sa, his wife, and their only daughter. (nouns)
• The god Alatangana came to visit Sa, was appalled at what he saw, and condemned Sa for the filth. (verbs)
• The world that Sa created was dark, filthy, and lifeless. (adjectives)
• Alatangana recreated Sa’s world neatly, nicely, and decently. (adverbs)