BAB 2 Paralel Structure

Parallel structure
R Wisudawanto
Parallel structure
 SENTENCES WITH ONE CLAUSE
 Some sentences in English have just one subject and verb,
 It is very important for you to find the subject and verb in these sentences. In some
sentences it is easy to find the subject and verb. However, certain structures, such
as objects of prepositions, appositives, and participles, can cause confusion in
locating the subject and verb because each of these structures can look like a
subject or verb.
SKILL 1: BE SURE THE SENTENCE HAS A SUBJECT AND A VERB
 You know that a sentence in English should have a subject and a verb.
 The most common types of problems that you will encounter in the
Structure section of the TOEFL test have to do with subjects and verbs
 Example I
…………………was backed up for miles on the freeway.
(A) Yesterday
(B) In the morning
(C) Traffic
(D) Cars
Example II
Engineers…………for work on the new space program.
(A) necessary
(B) are needed
(C) hopefully
(D) next month
Example III
The boy………..going to the movies with a friend.
(A) he is
(B) he always was
(C) is relaxing
(D) will be
SKILL 2: BE CAREFUL OF OBJECTS OF
PREPOSITIONS
 An object of a preposition is a noun or a pronoun that comes after a
preposition, such as in, at, of, to, by, behind, on, and so on, to form a
prepositional phrase.
example:
(After his exams) Tom will take a trip (by boat).
This sentence contains two objects of prepositions. Exams is the object of the
preposition after and boat is the object of the preposition by.

 An object of a preposition can cause confusion in the Structure section of
the TOEFL test because it can be mistaken for the subject of a sentence.
PREPOSITIONS
Example
With his friend……..founds the movie theater.
(A) has
(B)he
(C) later
(D) when
SKILL 3: BE CAREFUL OF APPOSITIVES
 Appositives can cause confusion in the Structure section of the TOEFL test
because an appositive can be mistaken for the subject of a sentence.
 An appositive is a noun that comes before or after another noun and has
the same meaning.
Example:
Sally, the best student in the class, got an A on the exam.
In this example Sally is the subject of the sentence and the best student in
the class can easily be recognized as an appositive phrase because of the
noun student and because of the commas. The sentence says that Sally
and the best student in the class are the same person. Note that if you
leave out the appositive phrase, the sentence still makes sense (Sally got
an A on the exam).
PREPOSITIONS
Example 1
………, George, is attending the lecture.
(A) Right now
(B) Happily
(C) Because of the time
(D) My friend
Example II
………,Sarah rarely misses her basketball shots.
(A) An excellent basketball player
(B) An excellent basketball player is
(C) Sarah is an excellent basketball player
(D) Her excellent basketball play
SKILL 4: BE CAREFUL OF PRESENT
PARTICIPLES
 A present participle is the -ing form of the verb (talking, playing). In the Structure
section of the TOEFL test a present participle can cause confusion because it can
be either a part of the verb or an adjective. It is part of the verb when it is
preceded by some form of the verb be.
Example: (VERB)
The man is talking to his friend.
In this sentence talking is part of the verb because it is accompanied by is.
 A present participle is an adjective when it is not accompanied by some form of

the verb be.
Example: (ADJECTIVE)
The man talking to his friend has a beard.
In this sentence talking is an adjective and not part of the verb because it is not
accompa-nied by some form of be. The verb in this sentence is has.
SKILL 4: BE CAREFUL OF PRESENT
PARTICIPLES
The child…………playing in the yard is my son.
(A) now
(B)is
(C) he
(D) was
SKILL 5: BE CAREFUL OF PAST PARTICIPLES
 Past participles can cause confusion in the Structure section of the TOEFL test
because a past participle can be either an adjective or a part of a verb.
 The past participle is the form of the verb that appears with have or be.
Example (verb)
The family has purchased a television.
The poem was written by Paul.
 In the first sentence the past participle purchased is part of the verb because it is
accompanied by has. In the second sentence the past participle written is part of
the verb because it is accompanied by was.
 A past participle is an adjective when it is not accompanied by some form of be or

have.
Example (adjective)
The television purchased yesterday was expensive.
The poem written by Paul appeared in the magazine.
PREPOSITIONS
The packages……..mailed at the post office will arrive Monday.

(A) have
(B) Were
(C) them
(D) just
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE (Skills 1-5): Underline the subjects once and the verbs twice in each of the following sentences.
Then, indicate if the sentences are correct (C) or incorrect (I).
1.For three weeks at the beginning of the semester students with fewer than the maximum number of
units can add additional courses.
2.On her lunch hour went to a nearby department store to purchase a wedding gift.
3.The fir trees were grown for the holiday season were harvested in November.
4. In the grove the overripe oranges were falling on the ground.
5.The papers being delivered at 4:00 will contain the announcement of the president’s resignation.
6.A specialty shop with various blends from around the world in the shopping mall.
7.The portraits exhibited in the Houston Museum last month are now on display in Dallas.
8. With a sudden jerk of his hand threw the ball across the field to one of the other players.
9.Construction of the housing development it will be underway by the first of the month.
10.Those applicants returning their completed forms at the earliest date have the highest priority.

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Parallel structure

 A present participle is an adjective when it is not accompanied by some form of

 A past participle is an adjective when it is not accompanied by some form of be or

The packages……..mailed at the post office will arrive Monday.

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