7.3 Parallel Structure, Subject-Verb Agreement, and Word Order

Parallel Structure, Subject-Verb Agreement, and Word Order

Advanced sentence mechanics are a frequent focus on the ECLT. Errors in parallel structure, subject-verb agreement, and word order can make sentences confusing or grammatically incorrect. Mastering these areas will not only help you identify correct answers but also improve your overall comprehension of complex texts.

Parallel Structure (Parallelism)

Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level.

1. Parallelism in Lists and Series

When you list items, all items must be in the same grammatical form (e.g., all nouns, all gerunds, all infinitives).

• Faulty: The manager's duties include planning the budget, evaluating staff, and to supervise daily operations. (Two gerunds, one infinitive).
• Correct: The manager's duties include planning the budget, evaluating staff, and supervising daily operations. (All gerunds).

2. Parallelism with Correlated Pairs

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together. The structure following the first half of the pair must match the structure following the second half. Common pairs: either...or, neither...nor, not only...but also, both...and.

• Faulty: She is not only a talented speaker but also writes excellently. (Noun phrase vs. verb phrase).
• Correct: She is not only a talented speaker but also an excellent writer. (Noun phrase vs. noun phrase).

Complex Subject-Verb Agreement

Identifying the true subject of a sentence can sometimes be tricky, leading to agreement errors. The verb must always agree with the subject in number (singular or plural).

1. Prepositional Phrase Interference

Often, a prepositional phrase separates the subject from the verb. Do not let the noun in the prepositional phrase confuse you; the verb must agree with the main subject.

• Faulty: The box of spare parts are in the storage room. (The verb 'are' incorrectly agrees with 'parts').
• Correct: The box of spare parts is in the storage room. (The singular subject 'box' takes the singular verb 'is').

2. Agreement with Compound Subjects

• Subjects joined by "and" are generally plural and take a plural verb.
  • Example: The director and the producer are attending the meeting.
• When subjects are joined by "or" or "nor", the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
  • Example: Neither the employees nor the manager agrees with the new policy. (The singular 'manager' takes the singular verb 'agrees').
  • Example: Neither the manager nor the employees agree with the new policy. (The plural 'employees' takes the plural verb 'agree').

Word Order Rules

English word order is generally Subject-Verb-Object (SVO). However, certain structures require this order to change.

1. Inverted Word Order

Inversion occurs when the verb (or auxiliary verb) is placed before the subject. This is common in questions, but it is also required in statements that begin with negative or restrictive adverbial phrases. Common triggers for inversion:

• Hardly... when, Scarcely... when, No sooner... than, Rarely, Seldom, Never, Only after, Not only.

• Standard order: He had hardly arrived when the phone rang.

• Inverted order: Hardly had he arrived when the phone rang. (Auxiliary 'had' precedes subject 'he').

• Standard order: I have never seen such a magnificent performance.

• Inverted order: Never have I seen such a magnificent performance.

2. Indirect Question Word Order

Direct questions use inverted word order (Auxiliary-Subject-Verb or 'Wh'-Auxiliary-Subject-Verb). However, when a question is embedded within another sentence (making it an indirect question), it must use statement word order (Subject-Verb).

• Direct Question: Where does he live? (Inverted: Aux 'does' + Subject 'he' + Verb 'live').

• Indirect Question (Faulty): I want to know where does he live.

• Indirect Question (Correct): I want to know where he lives. (Statement order: Subject 'he' + Verb 'lives').

• Direct Question: What time is the meeting?

• Indirect Question (Correct): Can you tell me what time the meeting is?

Parallelism and Agreement Trap Table

Watch out for these common traps on the exam:

By carefully checking for parallelism, identifying true subjects amidst distracting phrases, and applying the correct word order for inversions and indirect questions, you will significantly improve your accuracy on the mechanics portion of the test.

Misplaced Modifiers and Dangling Participles

Another critical area of sentence mechanics involves the correct placement of modifiers. A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes or limits another word or phrase in the sentence. For clear and accurate communication, a modifier must be placed as closely as possible to the noun or pronoun it is intended to modify. Failing to do so can result in sentences that are confusing, ambiguous, or unintentionally humorous.

Misplaced Modifiers

A misplaced modifier is a modifier that is positioned too far away from the word it describes. Because of its awkward placement, the sentence implies something the writer did not intend.

• Faulty: She served sandwiches to the children on paper plates. (This implies the children were on paper plates.)
• Correct: She served sandwiches on paper plates to the children.

Always check words like only, almost, just, nearly, and merely, as their placement can drastically change the meaning of a sentence.

• Example 1: He only gave me five dollars. (He didn't do anything else but give five dollars.)
• Example 2: He gave me only five dollars. (He gave five dollars and no more.)

Dangling Participles (Dangling Modifiers)

A dangling participle (or dangling modifier) occurs when a sentence begins with a modifying phrase, but the noun or pronoun that is supposed to be modified is completely missing from the sentence, or the wrong noun is placed immediately after the phrase. The introductory phrase "dangles" because it has nothing logical to attach to.

• Faulty: Walking down the street, the trees looked beautiful. (This implies the trees were walking down the street.)
• Correct: Walking down the street, I thought the trees looked beautiful. (The pronoun 'I' is correctly placed immediately after the modifying phrase to show who was walking.)

To fix a dangling modifier, you can either change the main clause so that it begins with the correct subject, or change the dangling phrase itself into a complete subordinate clause with its own subject and verb.

• Faulty: After finishing the report, the coffee was spilled.
• Correct (Method 1): After finishing the report, he spilled the coffee.
• Correct (Method 2): After he finished the report, the coffee was spilled.

Mastering the rules surrounding modifiers will add a high level of polish and precision to your reading comprehension skills, helping you spot these subtle errors on the ECLT.