平行结构
　　相似的思想应用相似的形式表达出来。句子的成份相近，则也应以相似的形式出现。请注意以下标有"NO"的句子是不规范的。
　　No: The school bus skidded, turned sideways, then comes to a stop.
　　Yes: The school bus skidded, turned sideways, and came to a stop.
　　(并列时态)
　　No: I don’t know why I married someone who is miserly, sloppy and a bore.
　　Yes: I don’t know why I married someone who is miserly, sloppy and boring.
　　(形容词平行结构)
　　No: In the wreck the circus lost a panda and elephant.
　　Yes: In the wreck the circus lost a panda and an elephant.
　　(不定冠词的平行结构)
　　No: I debated whether I should give the beggar money or to offer him food.
　　Yes: I debated whether to give the beggar money or to offer him food.
　　(不定式的平行结构)
　　No: They would lie on the battlefield for hours and sometimes days.
　　Yes: They would lie on the battlefield for hours and sometimes for days.
　　(介词平行结构)
　　No: Michael’s vacuum cleaner squealed loudly, shook violently, and dust filled the air.
　　Yes: Michael’s vacuum cleaner squealed loudly, shook violently, and filled the air with dust.
　　(并列谓语)
　　No: The mechanic explained the problem, method, and the tools that he was going to use.
　　Yes: The mechanic explained the problem, method, and tools that he was going to use.
　　(并列带有定冠词"the"的名词)
　　No: He retired respected by his associates, admired by his friends, and his employees loved him.
　　Yes: He retired respected by his associates, admired by his friends, and loved by his employees.
　　(并列被动语态)
　　No: As a young man he had been to Shanghai, fighting in the Anti-Japanese War, and following the Nationalist Party to Chongking.
　　Yes: As a young man he had been to Shanghai, had fought in the Anti-Japanese War and had followed the Nationalist Party to Chongking.
　　(并列过去完成时)
　　No: Jane is pretty, with brown hair, and has a graceful manner.
　　Yes: Jane is pretty, brown-haired, and graceful.
　　(形容词平行结构)
　　No: He left the city because of his lack of success in business, the departure of his friends and because his health deteriorated rapidly.
　　Yes: He left the city because of his lack of success in business, the departure of his friends and his rapidly failing health.
　　(作宾语的名词平行结构)
　　No: They bought the house for location and affordability.
　　Yes: They bought the house because of its location and its affordability.
　　(并列名词;注意代词的所有格)
　　No: Why did you make Xiao Zhang feel useless and as if he was unimportant?
　　Yes: Why did you make Xiao Zhang feel useless and unimportant?
　　(形容词的平行结构)
　　No: This could be a problem for both the winners and for those who lose.
　　Yes: This could be a problem for both the winners and losers.
　　(名词平行结构)
　　No: The prisoner was not only found guilty of bribery but also adultery.
　　Yes: The prisoner was found guilty not only of bribery but also of adultery.
　　(并列介词短语)
　　为使平行结构清楚明了，随时都可以重复介词、冠词、助动词、不定词标志，或者长的短语或句子的介绍词。
　　Awkward: I admire Tennyson for the ideals in his poems but not his style.
　　Improved: I admire Tennyson for the ideals in his poems but not for his style.
　　Awkward: The sentences are difficult to understand, not because they are long but they are obscure.
　　Improved: The sentences are difficult to understand, not because they are long but because they are obscure.
　　Awkward: He explained that the advertising campaign had been successful, business had increased more than forty per cent, and additional capital was sorely needed.
　　Improved: He explained that the advertising campaign had been successful, that business had increased more than forty per cent, and that additional capital was sorely needed.

　　在商业和正式文件写作中，越来越多的用到圆点散句。除了更易读之外，它们更能从视觉上引起人们注意。作者需要决定在圆点之后用什么形式来写，是用名词，动词，形容词，副词，还是介词短语，定语从句甚至完整的句子。应该记住的是它们相互间应该保持一致。平行结构较多用。
　　Examples:
　　Our recommendations for improving computer-user comfort are as follows:
　　· Anti-radiation screens should be available for computer monitors.
　　· Wrist supports should be used to help maintain proper wrist position during computer use and possibly reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.
　　· Employees need adjustable chairs with a stronger back support.
　　(主谓一致结构)
　　What makes me different from other job applicants?
　　· Ability to converse in English, Japanese in addition to my native Mandarin
　　· Completion of two-month customer satisfaction training
　　· Impeccable medical report card
　　· Outgoing personality and eager desire to help
　　(名词平行结构)
　　Awkward: At Yi Xin Associates, we have 15 years of combined legal experience in all types of injury cases one can think of. Other areas we handle are wrongful death, automobile accidents and medical malpractice. If you slip and fall in a public building, we can represent you in filing a law suit against the owner. Also, our clients come to seek our help in handicap discrimination and denial of insurance claim cases.
　　Better: At Yi Xin Associates, we have 15 years of combined legal experience in:
　　· All injury cases
　　· Wrongful death
　　· Automobile accidents
　　· Medical malpractice
　　· Slip and fall
　　· Handicap discrimination
　　· Denial of insurance claims
　　Incorrect: The duties of the Executive Secretary of the Administrative Committee are:
　　· To take minutes of all meetings (不定式短语)
　　· The Executive Secretary answers all the correspondence; and (句子)
　　· Writing of month reports. (话题)
　　Correct: The duties of the Executive Secretary of the Administrative Committee are:
　　· To take minutes of all meetings;
　　· To answer all the correspondence; and
　　· To write monthly reports.

　　精典范例:
　　Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe1 alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
　　So let us begin anew, remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and that sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.
　　Now the trumpet summons us again - not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need2; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are3; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, a year in and year out "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation," a struggle4 against the common enemies of man: 5 tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
　　And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you6; ask what you can do for your country.
　　--美国前总统John F. Kennedy
　　注意：
　　(1)划线部分为平行结构
　　(2)例 1.头韵;例2&3. "We need arms"和 "We are embattled"为倒装结构;例4.同位语;例5.见冒号的用法。
　　在句中使用 "and" 或"on"时, 须连接结构相同的部分。总的原则是：词与词相配, 短语和短语相配,从句和从句相配 ,句子则和句子放在一起。所有这些搭配必须是平行结构，它们应采用相同的形式。
　　No: My parents went to Tibet, to Mongolia, and they even saw Hong Kong and Macau.
　　Yes: My parents went to Tibet, to Mongolia, and even to Hong Kong and Macau.
　　No: Jonathan noticed the way Stephanie talked and how she kept fidgeting with her fingers.
　　Yes: Jonathan noticed how Stephanie talked and how she kept fidgeting with her fingers.
　　一些连词，如 both/and, either/or, neither/nor,和not only/but also.常用于连接平行结构。
　　No: That conference was both helpful and contained a lot of information.
　　Yes: That conference was both helpful and informative.
　　No: Here we either turn left or right, but I forget which.
　　Yes: Here we turn either left or right, but I forget which.
　　No: Fu Chong, the pianist, was heavily influenced both by his mentor and his parents.
　　Yes: Fu Chong, the pianist, was heavily influenced by both his mentor and his parents.
　　No: Elizabeth’s overcoat is at either the theater or her dormitory.
　　Yes: Elizabeth’s overcoat is either at the theater or in her dormitory.