parallelism with correlative conjunctions

A correlative conjunction is a two-part conjunction. It consists of two words or phrases that are used to join sentence elements of equal value. The most common correlative conjunctions are the following:

• both … and
• either … or
• neither … nor
• not only … but also

Since the elements joined by these conjunctions are of equal value, it is important to make them parallel in structure—that is, to use the same grammatical structure for each element.

Here are some examples of parallelism with these correlative conjunctions.

• two noun phrases:
  • You should enter both the date and the time.
• two prepositional phrases:
  • My keys are either on my desk or in my coat pocket.
• two verbs:
  • The candidate who missed the appointment neither called nor emailed to explain his absence.
• two verbal phrases:
  • It is vital not only to know the law but also to follow it.

© Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada, 2024
TERMIUM Plus^®, la banque de données terminologiques et linguistiques du gouvernement du Canada
Outils d'aide à la rédaction – Writing Tips
Un produit du Bureau de la traduction