Parallelism (grammar)
Encyclopedia
In grammar
, parallelism is a balance of two or more similar word
s, phrase
s, or clause
s. The application of parallelism in sentence construction can sometimes improve writing style
clearness and readability. Parallelism may also be known as parallel structure or parallel construction. In English
, parallelism of the predicate
provides for one of the few structural situations in which the subject
for each verb does not need restatement. Parallelism is often achieved in conjunction with other stylistic principles, such as antithesis
, anaphora, asyndeton
, climax
, epistrophe
, and symploce
.
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, parallelism is a balance of two or more similar word
Word
In language, a word is the smallest free form that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content . This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own...
s, phrase
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....
s, or clause
Clause
In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. In some languages it may be a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate, although in other languages in certain clauses the subject may not appear explicitly as a noun phrase,...
s. The application of parallelism in sentence construction can sometimes improve writing style
English writing style
An English writing style is a way of using the English language.The style of a piece of writing is the way in which features of the language are used to convey meaning, typically but not always within the constraints of more widely accepted conventions of usage, grammar, and spelling.ghAn...
clearness and readability. Parallelism may also be known as parallel structure or parallel construction. In English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, parallelism of the predicate
Predicate (grammar)
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...
provides for one of the few structural situations in which the subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
for each verb does not need restatement. Parallelism is often achieved in conjunction with other stylistic principles, such as antithesis
Antithesis
Antithesis is a counter-proposition and denotes a direct contrast to the original proposition...
, anaphora, asyndeton
Asyndeton
Asyndeton is a stylistic scheme in which conjunctions are deliberately omitted from a series of related clauses. Examples are veni, vidi, vici and its English translation "I came, I saw, I conquered." Its use can have the effect of speeding up the rhythm of a passage and making a single idea more...
, climax
Climax (figure of speech)
In rhetoric, a climax is a figure of speech in which words, phrases, or clauses are arranged in order of increasing importance. It is sometimes used with anadiplosis, which uses the repetition of a word or phrase in successive clauses.Examples:*"There are three things that will endure: faith,...
, epistrophe
Epistrophe
Epistrophe , also known as epiphora , is a figure of speech and the counterpart of anaphora. It is the repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses or sentences...
, and symploce
Symploce
In rhetoric, symploce is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is used successively at the beginning of two or more clauses or sentences and another word or phrase is used successively at the end of the same. It is the combination of anaphora and epistrophe...
.