PARALLELISM

Two or more sentence elements that have the same relation to another element should be in the same form. Otherwise, the reader is forced to work harder to understand the meaning of the sentence. When a series consists of phrases or clauses, the same part of speech (preposition, gerund, etc.) should introduce them. Do not mix infinitives with participles or adjectives with nouns. Here are some examples of nonparallel elements:

Andersen is hiring managers, programmers, and people who work in accounting. [nouns not parallel]

Here is the corrected sentence: Andersen is hiring managers, programmers, and accountants.

PUT IN ANOTHER EXAMPLE HERE.

Andersen’s goals are to win new clients, keeping old clients happy, and finding new enterprises. [infinitive mixed with gerunds]

Here is the corrected sentence: Andersen’s goals are to win new clients, keep old clients happy, and find new enterprises.

 

HYPHENATED ADJECTIVES

Many adjectives used in the business world are actually combinations of words: up-to-date report, last-minute effort, fifth-floor suite, well-built engine. These adjectives are hyphenated when they come before the noun they modify. However, when such word combinations come after the noun they modify, they are not hyphenated. In the following example, the adjectives appear in italics, and the nouns they modify are underlined:

The report is up to date because of our team’s last-minute efforts.

Hyphens are not used when part of the combination is a word ending in ly (because that word is usually not an adjective). Hyphens are also omitted from word combinations that are used so frequently that readers are used to seeing the words together:

We live in a rapidly shrinking world.

Our highly motivated employees will be well paid.

Please consider renewing your credit card account.

Send those figures to our data processing department.

 

 

 

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