154 English Grammar Demystifi ed
For example, you know how to recognize describing words and phrases. However,
do you know how to use them to create balanced sentences?
Balanced sentences are ones in which related descriptions, actions, or ideas are
written in the same form. Grammarians call this parallel construction. There is
power in parallel construction. In fact, some very famous examples of parallel con-
struction exist in history:
Julius Caesar: I came; I saw; I conquered.How does this sentence exemplify parallel construction? There are three verbs—
came,saw, and conquered—all expressed in the past tense and all preceded by I.
Abraham Lincoln: But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot
consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground.Again we read three verbs, dedicate,consecrate, and hallow, all in the present tense
and all preceded by we cannot.
Sir Winston Churchill: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.In Churchill’s sentence, the parallel is accomplished by using four words, all the
same part of speech, that is, nouns.
John F. Kennedy: Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can
do for your country.This is actually a quote from Marcus Tullius Cicero, a fi rst-century Roman states-
man. President Kennedy considered it memorable enough to use in his 1961 inaugu-
ral address. In it, the repetition of ask not what and can do provide a parallel struc-
ture for the sentence. The two halves of the sentence start with the command form
of the verb, ask.
Examples of not-so-famous unbalanced sentences follow. Where did the writer
go wrong? What part of speech or related idea was not carried forward in a consis-
tent way?
Incorrect: Cari is attractive and has good sense.If you say this sentence aloud, you will probably agree that it sounds unbalanced.
Why? If you analyze the sentence, you see that Cari is the subject and is is the