Grammar & Punctuation Practice

Parallel Structure, Independent vs. Dependent Clauses, Semicolons, and Colons

Parallel Structure--What is it? aka Parallelism

The use of similar grammatical structures for elements of importance, either within or among sentences.

Translation? If the content of a sentence is parallel, then your

words often look similar in ending. If a series of sentences are parallel, then their

structure and arrangement often look similar.

Parallelism within a sentence

Smoking can worsen heart disease and cause lung cancer.

Why parallel? “worsen” and “cause” are both verbs that take

direct objects (transitive)

Parallelism among sentences

Smoking has less well-known effects, too. It can cause gum disease. It can impair circulation of blood and other fluids. And it can reduce the body’s supply of vitamins and minerals.

Why parallel? It can cause/impair/reduce are all of the same verb

form (similar to the previous example)

A challenge:Parallel or not?

Harris expects dieters to give up bread, dairy, and eating meat.

Harris expects dieters to give up bread, dairy, and meat.

Parallel: Harris expects dieters to give up bread, dairy, and meat.

A challenge:Parallel or not?

Harris emphasizes self-denial, but Marconi emphasizes moderation.

Harris emphasizes self-denial, but with Marconi’s plan you can eat whatever you want in moderation.

Parallel: Harris emphasizes self-denial, but Marconi emphasizes moderation.

A challenge:Parallel or not?

If you want to lose weight quickly, choose the Harris diet. You’ll have more success keeping the weight off if you choose the Marconi diet.

If you want to lose weight quickly, choose the Harris diet. If you want to keep the weight off, choose the Marconi diet.

Parallel: If you want to lose weight quickly, choose the Harris diet. If you want to keep the weight off, choose the Marconi diet.

Do I always have to use parallel structure?

No, it is a matter of choice. However, if you notice an opportunity to incorporate parallelism into your writing, it may improve the clarity of your thoughts.

A Challenge for you…

In small groups, be ready to fix the parallel structure errors in these examples. The first group to finish with correct answers wins a prize! *All revisions must be correct (parallel) in order to receive the prize.

• Most people would rather get a tooth pulled than speaking in public.

• The most popular country songs feature interesting characters and story lines that inspire people.

• My sister wants to be a police officer, but my brother is interested in a career in nursing.

• The city offers three kinds of public transportation: buses, taking a train, and the tram system.

• Where will we go? What will we do? I wonder who will join us.

Want more practice?

Visit bedfordstmartins.com/exercisecentral and look up parallelism.

Independent Clauses

A word group that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

A single independent clause can be punctuated as a sentence; two related independent clauses (a.k.a. compound sentences) in a row need a clear separation. A period A semicolon Or a comma followed by a Coordinating Conjunction: for, and,

nor, but, or, yet, so

Compound sentence examples

I love to walk in the rain, so I am very happy it is raining today.

I love to walk in the rain; I am very happy it is raining today.

Practice!

Write 2 compound sentences. One sentence must have a comma +

coordinating conjunction, and the other sentence must use a semicolon.

Dependent Clauses

A group of words that DEPEND on the other part of the sentence (the main clause) in order to make it complete.

Dependent clauses usually begin with a subordinating conjunction: BECAUSE, ALTHOUGH, IF, SINCE, AFTER, etc. *(You can find a complete list of these online at OWL PURDUE)

Let’s take a look at some examples of both!

Independent vs. Dependent

Label the sentences that follow as independent or dependent. Fix the dependent (fragments) to make them complete sentences.

1.Mona Lisa smiles

2.When Mona Lisa smiles

3.Mona Lisa smiles coyly because she knows a secret

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence has an independent clause (can stand alone as a sentence) and one or more dependent clauses (not a complete sentence).

The clauses are always joined by a subordinating conjunction such as because, since, after, although, or when or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or which.

Complex Sentence examples

When Johnny asked Sally out, he was so nervous he forgot to give her his phone number.

She caught him to ask for his number after she realized his mistake.

PRACTICE!!! Make your own complex sentence Underline the dependent clause once and the

independent clause twice

Compound-Complex Sentences

The compound-complex sentence is so named because it shares the characteristics of both compound and complex sentences.

Like the compound sentence, the compound-complex has two main clauses. Like the complex sentence, it has at least one subordinate clause

Example of Compound-Complex

Although I like to go camping, I have not had time to

go lately, and I cannot find anyone to go with.

Example in Segments

What is the subordinating conjunction? Although

What is the dependent clause? Although I like to go camping

What are the 2 independent clauses? I have not had time to go lately / I cannot find anyone to go with

How are they joined together? COMMA + AND (coordinating conjunction)

Practice! You try…

Put these three ideas into a compound-complex sentence using the correct punctuation and conjunctions.

I over-slept this morning I was late to school I’ll have to stay late to make up the quiz

Using Colons Introducing Quotations & Lists of Items

Introduce the quotation with a complete sentence and a colon. Example: Thoreau ends his essay with a metaphor: “Time is but

the stream I go a-fishing in.”

This is an easy rule to remember: if you use a complete sentence to introduce a quotation, you need a colon after the sentence.

CAREFUL- DO NOT CONFUSE A COLON (:) WITH A SEMICOLON (;)!

Using Colons for Lists

When introducing a list of items, use a complete sentence followed by a colon. Example: Antigone isn’t afraid to stand-up to Creon for multiple

reasons: she values her religious beliefs more than his laws, she feels a sense of duty to her family, and she isn’t afraid of death.

Notice that each item in the list is separated by a COMMMAAAAAAA!

Practice!

Choose 2 quotes from the text and introduce them with a complete sentence and a colon.

Write 2 sentences that successfully integrate a colon prior to introducing a list of items/phrases.