tim Wrote:I don't think anyone can ever give a comprehensive list for anything in the English language. What you should do instead is test any such phrase in a sentence you know exhibits proper parallelism and see if the parallel marker still makes sense:
I went to the store and to the library. [fine]
I went to the store and then to the library. [still fine]
I went to the store and piano to the library. [no good]
So "and then" is just as valid a parallel marker as "and", but "and piano" is not a parallel marker.
Totally understand what you're trying to say about the comprehensive list. That being said, to me, phrases such as "and then" etc. are pretty easily discernible but when I run into situations such as "she is smart and very beautiful" -- can I still consider this a parallel structure?
My thought process goes something like this:
"Ok, I see "and" which is a parallel marker -- look to the right --
"very beautiful" and to the left "smart". The left side doesn't have an adverb but the right side does -- does this break parallelism? Ah, crap, I don't know."
Does the left need something to describe how smart or is "smart" and "very beautiful" OK in terms of parallelism?
Hope my jargon above clarified my question. :)