Parallelism Gist For GMAT | Verbal for GMAT PDF Download

Introduction

Parallelism is a favorite tool on the GMAT's Sentence Correction section. The GMAT likes it because it's versatile. It's a more advanced aspect of a sentence, involving both grammar and logic. Let's say we have two parts, P and Q, that we want to make parallel. It's not just about making P and Q individually grammatically correct; they also need to match in their grammar and play the same logical role in the sentence. Simply put, parallelism requires us to think about the meaning of the sentence, and there's no easy formula for it. 

What can be in Parallel?

•  We can make words like nouns, verbs, or adjectives parallel, such as "the birds and the bees," "eat and run," or "necessary and sufficient." But on the GMAT, they often test more complex parallelism.
• Instead of just words, they focus on making whole phrases (like groups of words doing a job, such as "in the park" or "to learn") or clauses (groups of words with a subject and a verb) parallel. 
• The GMAT likes to add complexity, so if you see phrases or clauses in parallel, they might come with extra details that make it trickier to notice the parallel structure.

Markers of Parallelism

• Usually, two things that are parallel in a sentence are connected by the word "and," "but," or "or." These are called coordinating conjunctions. For example, if you have phrases like "raising the prime lending rate," "limiting the money supply," and "setting up cost-of-living adjustments," they are parallel because they're joined by "and."
• Whenever you see the word "and" on the GMAT Sentence Correction, it's a clue that there's some kind of parallel structure. Other phrases like "as well as" and "rather than" can also do the same job of making things parallel.
• The GMAT also likes to use pairs of words that go together, called correlative conjunctions. Some common ones are:
  not only... but also
  not... but
  both... and
  either... or
• Watch out for the order in these pairs, like not mixing up "not" and "but," which is a common mistake. Learning to recognize these conjunctions can help you find parallelism in sentences.

Important Points 

• Comparisons often rely on parallelism, so it's helpful to understand the idioms related to comparisons.
• Many idioms used in comparisons involve elements placed in parallel, like "to think of A as B" or "to consider P Q."
• Verbs in parallel don't always have to be in the same tense.
• Be careful about the placement of common words in parallel structures; one of the sentences mentioned has an issue with this.
• Pay attention to implied words and know how to handle the tricky situation of repeated verb phrases.

Solved Examples

Q1: The restaurant’s manager reported an increase in customers during the month of June, as much because of its business of the month before being so slow as that more tourists travel through the area in the summer.

a. of its business of the month before being so slow as that
b. of its business the month before having been slow as because
c. of its business the month before being as slow as because
d. its business the month before had been so slow as because
e. its business of the month before was as slow as that
Ans: Option d
Sol: In terms of parallelism, if you choose to say “because of its business…” you will need to use the parallel phrase “as because of more tourists travel…”  And “because of more tourists travel” doesn’t make sense; therefore, we can eliminate all the choices that begin with “of,” which leaves us with only the final two choices.  The “because” immediately before the underlined portion of the sentence leaves us with no choice but to use a “because” before “more tourists.”  Choosing ‘d’ as the correct answer, we end up with a parallel phrase: “as much because x as because y.”

Q2: His coworkers praised both his determination and the way he paid attention to detail.
A) and the way he paid attention to detail
B) and also praised his attention to detail
C) and his attention to detail
D) they praised the way he paid attention to detail
E) also they praised his attention to detail
Ans: Option C
Sol: Grammar issue presented: Parallelism (correlative pairs)
This sentence uses the correlative pair “Both…and” to present two characteristics. Both characteristics should be in the same form, but one is a possessive pronoun + noun (his determination), while the other is a phrase (the way he paid attention to detail). We need another possessive pronoun + noun: “his attention to detail.”

A) and the way he paid attention to detail
It is parallel? NO – his determination (pronoun + noun) / the way he paid attention to detail (phrase)
B) and also praised his attention to detail
Is it parallel? NO – his determination (pronoun + noun) / praised his attention to detail (verb phrase)
C) and his attention to detail
Is it parallel? YES – his determination (pronoun + noun) / his attention to detail (pronoun + noun)
Additional errors? NO
D) they praised the way he paid attention to detail
Is it parallel? NO – This choice lacks the second conjunction (and) in the correlative pair Both…and
E) also they praised his attention to detail
It is parallel? NO – This choice lacks the second conjunction (and) in the correlative pair Both…and
(C) is correct.