Parallelism: questions from free gmat online study session

[JianYongZ719]

Hello, Ron. After listening to your study hall about parallelism, I have some questions and hope that you can help me.

Q1: noun1 and also noun2, noun1 but instead noun2.
Will these structure be parallel? More general, if I put adj. or adv. modifiers before the noun, such as "even" and "perhaps", can I still treat the sentence as parallelism?
eg: prep
Experts estimate that ten times as much petroleum exists in sources like tar sands, heavy oil, and perhaps even in shale than in conventional reservoirs.
The correct answer is D-such sources as tar sands, heavy oil, and perhaps even shale as

Q2: noun1 and noun2 that ...; noun1+preposition and noun1 + that...
One aspect of parallelism is strict grammatical parallel. Will modifiers behind the noun also have to be parallel? For example, I like swimming in the pool and jogging that keeps me fit. Is that sentence parallel?

Q3: can do 1... and do 2...; can do... and is...
How can I tell whether do1 is parallel with do2 or can do1 is parallel with do2? For example, prep: A scrub jay can remember when... , and tend/tends not to bother...
And whether " can do" is able to be parallel with " is "? Or as long as such elements funtion as Verb, they can be parallel?

Thank you!!

[RonPurewal]

Questions #1, #2:

The amount of "extra decoration" on the parallel structures is irrelevant, as long as the core structures themselves are parallel.

In real life, we often have more to say about thing #1 than about thing #2.
E.g.,
I'd like a steak and a Diet Pepsi. Ok, parallel.
I'd like a T-bone steak grilled medium-well, with garlic sauce and spinach on the side, and a Diet Pepsi. Still parallel-- it's totally reasonable that I might want to specify more things about a steak than about a Diet Pepsi.

A rule requiring exactly the same quantity and/or type of modifiers on parallel structures would be absurd.

[RonPurewal]

#3:

In terms of grammar, any verb can theoretically be parallel to any other verb. The only grammatically unacceptable situation would arise if one verb were singular and the other were plural.

As for "which things should be parallel to which other things", that should be straightforward to determine from context.
Remember, step 1 of ANY s.c. problem is "Read the sentence like a normal reader, and get the meaning."

[JianYongZ719]

#3:

In terms of grammar, any verb can theoretically be parallel to any other verb. The only grammatically unacceptable situation would arise if one verb were singular and the other were plural.

As for "which things should be parallel to which other things", that should be straightforward to determine from context.
Remember, step 1 of ANY s.c. problem is "Read the sentence like a normal reader, and get the meaning."

Thank you very much, I get it!!!

[RonPurewal]

Excellent.

[JianYongZ719]

Excellent.

Sorry Ron, I have questions again.

Q1
If a sentence is " sb do sth, and ..."(before the "and", there is a comma), how can I make this sentence parallel?
For example
I like swimming, and running.
I like swimming, and also like running.
I like swimming, and I also like running.
I swimming everyday to keep me healthy, and to lose weight.
Which one of such sentences is correct and which one is incorrect?
Now I think that the second and third are right. Because of the comma, there should be a sentence after " and". In the second sentence, the subject is omitted, while in the third one, the subject is not.

Q2
Look at this sentence
Economists argue that the stock market will avoid the recession that many people have feared since last year and begin to flourish again.
That is an OG sentence, but I have already rewritten. I hope it is Ok.
What I want to ask is that is it possible that the verb " begin" is parallel with the verb "have feared"?

Q3
Whether the sentence: Both my friends and also my parents like swimming is Ok?
I don't know whether I'm right, so I ask you for help again. Thank you very much!!!

[RonPurewal]

#1:
Punctuation is not tested on this exam. It shouldn't make any difference in your reasoning.

Commas usually appear between longer parallel structures, and not between shorter ones. It's a stylistic decision. Not tested.

Just evaluate parallelism the same way as always, regardless of whether commas are present or absent.

[RonPurewal]

#2:
Scroll up a couple of posts and re-read the part about "step 1 of ANY s.c. problem". Then read it again. And again. Etc.

"Fear" is something people did. "Begin" is something the economy may do.

If you're thinking about putting these in parallel, then you're completely ignoring (or completely unaware of) what the sentence means.

It's impossible to do SC without step 1. That's why it's step 1.

[RonPurewal]

#3:
Only one of "both" and "also" can appear. The use of both is redundant/unidiomatic.

[JianYongZ719]

#2:
Scroll up a couple of posts and re-read the part about "step 1 of ANY s.c. problem". Then read it again. And again. Etc.

"Fear" is something people did. "Begin" is something the economy may do.

If you're thinking about putting these in parallel, then you're completely ignoring (or completely unaware of) what the sentence means.

It's impossible to do SC without step 1. That's why it's step 1.

Thank you for your answer.
About Q2, you mean that "begin" and "fear" can't be parallel because they are not logical parallel.

However, they can be grammatical parallel and thus the sentence may be ambiguous. for example, I incorrectly think that "begin" can be parallel with "fear". Can I just ignore the grammatical ambiguity and just use the meaning of the sentence to judge which answer is right?

[RonPurewal]

If a sentence has two possible meanings but one of them is absurd, then there is no "ambiguity".

Step 1 comes first.

[JianYongZ719]

If a sentence has two possible meanings but one of them is absurd, then there is no "ambiguity".

Step 1 comes first.

Thank you for your answer. I understand now~

[RonPurewal]

Excellent.

[RonPurewal]

Remember, step #1 is to read the sentence as though you were reading a book or magazine.

In that step, you should not think consciously about grammar. Not at all.
If something jumps out at you ("Whoa, that's so wrong") as you're reading, then, sure, you should notice it. But there's no point in thinking about grammar at this point, since (i) you don't know what's actually going to be tested and (ii) doing so will inevitably distract you from the intended meaning of the sentence.