Sentence Correction

osirus0830 wrote:I am having trouble recognizing parallelism when no parallel markers are present. Can someone explain what it means for a sentence to be logically paralell. I understand how to make something structurally parallel, but what does it mean to make something logically paralell, and how can I recognize when I need to make something paralell when no markers are present?

"Parallelism" refers to sentences in which all items are described in the same format.

hrishi19884 wrote: haha ....not a beast though .....can say wife of "GMAT"(always there in GMAT)....and mostly comes to our rescue.

Actually, I would also love to see if some one throws some light on parallelism especially when no parallel markers are present or logically parallel case(as indicate by osirus)

How to recognize a parallelism
Parallelism is a rule of English grammar that demands consistency in a sentence's structure. Any lists of ideas, places, activities, or descriptions that have the same level of importance - whether they be words, phrases, or clauses - must be written in the same grammatical form. Some examples:

activities: running, biking, and hiking
places: the store, the museum, and the restaurant
ideas: how to read, how to write, and how to learn
descriptions: quickly, quietly, and happily

Note the grammatical consistency in each list: the 'activities' all end in --ing; the 'places' are all singular nouns; the 'ideas' all begin with 'how to'; the 'descriptions' all end in -ly. In each list, whatever grammatical form is applied to one item is applied to all items. On the GMAT, this rule - what applies to one must apply to all - is pretty much all you need to remember.

hrishi19884 wrote:

ldoolitt wrote:

hrishi19884 wrote:
I love reading books and articles. (one action -reading)

I love reading books and writing articles (two actions)

In these two examples - 1st one in not parallel though sentence is grammatically correct and meaning too is correct.
Because, I actually love to read both.

But, I think - GMAT would agree only on the 2nd ,since two actions are parallel. ( in case both are the options given in sentence correction).

Please explain....how should we go about it?

When I read the sentence "I love reading books and articles" I think "I love reading books an WHATTING articles" Technically speaking you can't really infer what action you are applying to articles because you don't state it explicitly in that sentence. I would think that "I love reading books and reading articles" would be more correct, despite the fact no one actually talks like that and I doubt that actual question would be on the test...

Hey one more doubt that struck me as soon as I got your reply.

Does 1st one means this> -- I love reading books
I love articles.

2nd one means this> I love reading books
I love reading articles.

If this is the case then 1st one should also be right. if I mean -- "I love articles" and "I love reading books"

Now, what you say?

what about -- I love reading books as well as articles? How can we split? or make it correct? if I just mean "I love articles" and not "I love reading articles".

what about --- I love reading books and articles as well. (is this a correct sentence?) what it actually means if we want to split?

ldoolitt wrote:

hrishi19884 wrote:
Hey one more doubt that struck me as soon as I got your reply.

Does 1st one means this> -- I love reading books
I love articles.

2nd one means this> I love reading books
I love reading articles.

If this is the case then 1st one should also be right. if I mean -- "I love articles" and "I love reading books"

Now, what you say?

You are basically correct! If, for example, you flipped around the sentence its clearer

"I love reading books and articles"
"I love articles and reading books"

Not only is the meaning distorted but also those two aren't structurally parallel. You love an item compared to you love doing something with an item. Not parallel structurally.

Thumbs up! ....understood it fully ...thanks a ton!!

hrishi19884 wrote:

what about -- I love reading books as well as articles? How can we split? or make it correct? if I just mean "I love articles" and not "I love reading articles".

what about --- I love reading books and articles as well. (is this a correct sentence?) what it actually means if we want to split?

Okay, stepping back. You have two sentences.

"I love reading books and articles."
"I love reading books and reading articles."

Do these two MEAN the same thing? No they don't In the first sentence (which isn't even structurally parallel mind you) you are stating that you love READING BOOKS and ARTICLES. It does in no way imply you love READING ARTICLES. It actually implies that you love the articles themselves, not reading them. The second sentence, which is structurally parallel, means that you love READING BOOKS and READING ARTICLES.

Does this make more sense?

hrishi19884 wrote:
Thumbs up! ....understood it fully ...thanks a ton!!

Lovely! Glad I could help.

ldoolitt wrote:

hrishi19884 wrote:

what about -- I love reading books as well as articles? How can we split? or make it correct? if I just mean "I love articles" and not "I love reading articles".

what about --- I love reading books and articles as well. (is this a correct sentence?) what it actually means if we want to split?

Okay, stepping back. You have two sentences.

"I love reading books and articles."
"I love reading books and reading articles."

Do these two MEAN the same thing? No they don't In the first sentence (which isn't even structurally parallel mind you) you are stating that you love READING BOOKS and ARTICLES. It does in no way imply you love READING ARTICLES. It actually implies that you love the articles themselves, not reading them. The second sentence, which is structurally parallel, means that you love READING BOOKS and READING ARTICLES.

Does this make more sense?

Absolutely!!! fantastic explanation bro! thanks!!

hrishi19884 wrote:

hrishi19884 wrote:

ldoolitt wrote:

hrishi19884 wrote:
I love reading books and articles. (one action -reading)

I love reading books and writing articles (two actions)

In these two examples - 1st one in not parallel though sentence is grammatically correct and meaning too is correct.
Because, I actually love to read both.

But, I think - GMAT would agree only on the 2nd ,since two actions are parallel. ( in case both are the options given in sentence correction).

Please explain....how should we go about it?

When I read the sentence "I love reading books and articles" I think "I love reading books an WHATTING articles" Technically speaking you can't really infer what action you are applying to articles because you don't state it explicitly in that sentence. I would think that "I love reading books and reading articles" would be more correct, despite the fact no one actually talks like that and I doubt that actual question would be on the test...

Hey one more doubt that struck me as soon as I got your reply.

Does 1st one means this> -- I love reading books
I love articles.

2nd one means this> I love reading books
I love reading articles.

If this is the case then 1st one should also be right. if I mean -- "I love articles" and "I love reading books"

Now, what you say?

what about -- I love reading books as well as articles? How can we split? or make it correct? if I just mean "I love articles" and not "I love reading articles".

what about --- I love reading books and articles as well. (is this a correct sentence?) what it actually means if we want to split?

In that case you will have to write this way:

I love reading books and reading articles.

If u love article and reading books. then u can write "I love reading books and articles"

No offense but are you posting just to add to your post count? That question was already answered.

shashank.ism wrote:

hrishi19884 wrote:

hrishi19884 wrote:

ldoolitt wrote:

hrishi19884 wrote:
I love reading books and articles. (one action -reading)

I love reading books and writing articles (two actions)

In these two examples - 1st one in not parallel though sentence is grammatically correct and meaning too is correct.
Because, I actually love to read both.

But, I think - GMAT would agree only on the 2nd ,since two actions are parallel. ( in case both are the options given in sentence correction).

Please explain....how should we go about it?

When I read the sentence "I love reading books and articles" I think "I love reading books an WHATTING articles" Technically speaking you can't really infer what action you are applying to articles because you don't state it explicitly in that sentence. I would think that "I love reading books and reading articles" would be more correct, despite the fact no one actually talks like that and I doubt that actual question would be on the test...

Hey one more doubt that struck me as soon as I got your reply.

Does 1st one means this> -- I love reading books
I love articles.

2nd one means this> I love reading books
I love reading articles.

If this is the case then 1st one should also be right. if I mean -- "I love articles" and "I love reading books"

Now, what you say?

what about -- I love reading books as well as articles? How can we split? or make it correct? if I just mean "I love articles" and not "I love reading articles".

what about --- I love reading books and articles as well. (is this a correct sentence?) what it actually means if we want to split?

In that case you will have to write this way:

I love reading books and reading articles.

If u love article and reading books. then u can write "I love reading books and articles"