Parallel Structure
平行結構
相似的思想應用相似的形式表達出來。句子的成份相近，則也應以相似的形式出現。請注意以下標有"NO"的句子是不規範的。
No: The school bus skidded, turned sideways, then comes to a stop.
Yes: The school bus skidded, turned sideways, and came to a stop.
（並列時態）
No: I don’t know why I married someone who is miserly, sloppy and a bore.
Yes: I don’t know why I married someone who is miserly, sloppy and boring.
（形容詞平行結構）
No: In the wreck the circus lost a panda and elephant.
Yes: In the wreck the circus lost a panda and an elephant.
（不定冠詞的平行結構）
No: I debated whether I should give the beggar money or to offer him food.
Yes: I debated whether to give the beggar money or to offer him food.
（不定式的平行結構）
No: They would lie on the battlefield for hours and sometimes days.
Yes: They would lie on the battlefield for hours and sometimes for days.
（介詞平行結構）
No: Michael’s vacuum cleaner squealed loudly, shook violently, and dust filled the air.
Yes: Michael’s vacuum cleaner squealed loudly, shook violently, and filled the air with dust.
（並列謂語）
No: The mechanic explained the problem, method, and the tools that he was going to use.
Yes: The mechanic explained the problem, method, and tools that he was going to use.
（並列帶有定冠詞"the"的名詞）
No: He retired respected by his associates, admired by his friends, and his employees loved him.
Yes: He retired respected by his associates, admired by his friends, and loved by his employees.
（並列被動語態）
No: As a young man he had been to Shanghai, fighting in the Anti-Japanese War, and following the Nationalist Party to Chongking.
Yes: As a young man he had been to Shanghai, had fought in the Anti-Japanese War and had followed the Nationalist Party to Chongking.
（並列過去完成時）
No: Jane is pretty, with brown hair, and has a graceful manner.
Yes: Jane is pretty, brown-haired, and graceful.
（形容詞平行結構）
No: He left the city because of his lack of success in business, the departure of his friends and because his health deteriorated rapidly.
Yes: He left the city because of his lack of success in business, the departure of his friends and his rapidly failing health.
（作賓語的名詞平行結構）
No: They bought the house for location and affordability.
Yes: They bought the house because of its location and its affordability.
（並列名詞；注意代詞的所有格）
No: Why did you make Xiao Zhang feel useless and as if he was unimportant?
Yes: Why did you make Xiao Zhang feel useless and unimportant?
（形容詞的平行結構）
No: This could be a problem for both the winners and for those who lose.
Yes: This could be a problem for both the winners and losers.
（名詞平行結構）
No: The prisoner was not only found guilty of bribery but also adultery.
Yes: The prisoner was found guilty not only of bribery but also of adultery.
（並列介詞短語）
為使平行結構清楚明了，隨時都可以重複介詞、冠詞、助動詞、不定詞標誌，或者長的短語或句子的介紹詞。
Awkward: I admire Tennyson for the ideals in his poems but not his style.
Improved: I admire Tennyson for the ideals in his poems but not for his style.
Awkward: The sentences are difficult to understand, not because they are long but they are obscure.
Improved: The sentences are difficult to understand, not because they are long but because they are obscure.
Awkward: He explained that the advertising campaign had been successful, business had increased more than forty per cent, and additional capital was sorely needed.
Improved: He explained that the advertising campaign had been successful, that business had increased more than forty per cent, and that additional capital was sorely needed.
在商業和正式文件寫作中，越來越多的用到圓點散句。除了更易讀之外，它們更能從視覺上引起人們注意。作者需要決定在圓點之後用什麼形式來寫，是用名詞，動詞，形容詞，副詞，還是介詞短語，定語從句甚至完整的句子。應該記住的是它們相互間應該保持一致。平行結構較多用。
Examples:
Our recommendations for improving computer-user comfort are as follows:
· Anti-radiation screens should be available for computer monitors.
· Wrist supports should be used to help maintain proper wrist position during computer use and possibly reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.
· Employees need adjustable chairs with a stronger back support.
（主謂一致結構）
What makes me different from other job applicants?
· Ability to converse in English, Japanese in addition to my native Mandarin
· Completion of two-month customer satisfaction training
· Impeccable medical report card
· Outgoing personality and eager desire to help
（名詞平行結構）
Awkward: At Yi Xin Associates, we have 15 years of combined legal experience in all types of injury cases one can think of. Other areas we handle are wrongful death, automobile accidents and medical malpractice. If you slip and fall in a public building, we can represent you in filing a law suit against the owner. Also, our clients come to seek our help in handicap discrimination and denial of insurance claim cases.
Better: At Yi Xin Associates, we have 15 years of combined legal experience in:
· All injury cases
· Wrongful death
· Automobile accidents
· Medical malpractice
· Slip and fall
· Handicap discrimination
· Denial of insurance claims
Incorrect: The duties of the Executive Secretary of the Administrative Committee are:
· To take minutes of all meetings （不定式短語）
· The Executive Secretary answers all the correspondence; and （句子）
· Writing of month reports. （話題）
Correct: The duties of the Executive Secretary of the Administrative Committee are:
· To take minutes of all meetings;
· To answer all the correspondence; and
· To write monthly reports.
精典範例：
Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe1 alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
So let us begin anew, remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and that sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.
Now the trumpet summons us again - not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need2; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are3; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, a year in and year out "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation," a struggle4 against the common enemies of man: 5 tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you6; ask what you can do for your country.
美國前總統John F. Kennedy
注意：
（1）劃線部分為平行結構
（2）例 1.頭韻；例2&3. "We need arms"和 "We are embattled"為倒裝結構；例4.同位語；例5.見冒號的用法。
在句中使用 "and" 或"on"時， 須連接結構相同的部分。總的原則是：詞與詞相配， 短語和短語相配，從句和從句相配 ,句子則和句子放在一起。所有這些搭配必須是平行結構，它們應採用相同的形式。
No: My parents went to Tibet, to Mongolia, and they even saw Hong Kong and Macau.
Yes: My parents went to Tibet, to Mongolia, and even to Hong Kong and Macau.
No: Jonathan noticed the way Stephanie talked and how she kept fidgeting with her fingers.
Yes: Jonathan noticed how Stephanie talked and how she kept fidgeting with her fingers.
一些連詞，如 both/and, either/or, neither/nor,和not only/but also.常用於連接平行結構。
No: That conference was both helpful and contained a lot of information.
Yes: That conference was both helpful and informative.
No: Here we either turn left or right, but I forget which.
Yes: Here we turn either left or right, but I forget which.
No: Fu Chong, the pianist, was heavily influenced both by his mentor and his parents.
Yes: Fu Chong, the pianist, was heavily influenced by both his mentor and his parents.
No: Elizabeth’s overcoat is at either the theater or her dormitory.
Yes: Elizabeth’s overcoat is either at the theater or in her dormitory.
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（編輯：何瑩瑩）