Question

Which of the following options show parallel construction?
a. “Being happy,” “Being sad,” and “Being depressed”
b. “Telling a story,” “Being informed,” and “The end”
c. “Face the music,” “Dancing in the rain,” and “Show your stuff”
d. “To get rich,” “Getting lazy,” and “Being happy”

Answer 1

Parallel construction is when multiple parts of a sentence have the same grammatical structure. Let's analyze these.

FYI: a gerund is a verb used as a noun by adding -ing.
infinitives are the "to _" forms.

a. "Being happy," "Being sad," and "Being depressed"
All of these parts have the same grammatical structure, (gerund-adjective) so it is a parallel construction.

b. "The end" doesn't fit with the other two parts. (it's a noun but not a gerund)

c. "Dancing" doesn't fit with the other two parts. (it's a gerund but not a verb)

d. "To get rich" doesn't fit with the other two parts. (it's an infinitive, not a gerund)

Correct answer: a