Parallelism between 2 clauses

[JbhB682]

Hi -

I was reading the parallelism chapter in the Manhattan SC guide (6th edition)

Page 88 i see the following

Parallelism between clauses

Correct : I work and she plays [X and Y]

Should this not be instead

I work , and she plays [X comma and Y]

How does one know if the clauses have to be parallel to each other OR do the clauses have to independent to each other (thereby, requiring the usage of comma before the and)

Thank you !

[yo4561]

I have a similar question. I have an example that I made up:

Dogs have a unique quality in which several breeds have five paws and the rest may have four paws, three paws, or no paws.

Wouldn't you need a comma before the "and the rest" because these are two independent clauses? Or, does the parallel structure of "several breads have five paws" and "the rest may have four paws, three paws, or no paws" eliminate the need for the comma before the and?

Or do you purposely not need the comma to reduce any confusion with "and the rest may have four paws" from being seen as part of the list of elements "four paws, three paws, or no paws"?

[esledge]

First, please accept our apologies for the late response. A tech glitch hid this folder from all logged-in Manhattan Prep staff for the first quarter of the year, and I’m still digging through the backlog.

Hi -

I was reading the parallelism chapter in the Manhattan SC guide (6th edition)

Page 88 i see the following

Parallelism between clauses

Correct : I work and she plays [X and Y]

Should this not be instead

I work , and she plays [X comma and Y]

How does one know if the clauses have to be parallel to each other OR do the clauses have to independent to each other (thereby, requiring the usage of comma before the and)

Thank you !

Yes, I would use the comma as you did. The general rule is that if you have one of the FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) and there’s a subject and verb in both parts of the sentence, use a comma. Especially when the 2nd subject is someone/something else, but even when the 2nd subject is just a pronoun referring to the 1st subject again.

Just to give some more examples:

Correct: I work at a bank, and she plays clarinet in the symphony.

Correct: I work at a bank, but the CEO has never visited our branch.

Correct: I work at a bank all week, but I play drums with my band on the weekends.

Correct: I work at a bank all week and play drums with my band on the weekends. (No comma because “play drums…” is not a complete clause.)

Wrong: I work at a bank all week, and don’t like paperwork! (Should not have a comma because “don’t like paperwork” is not a complete clause.)

Correct: I work at a bank all week, and I don’t like paperwork!

A common exception is when you have a list of three or more verbs, and you use the comma just for that reason:

Correct: Zack works with numbers all day, dislikes paperwork, and is actively seeking more creative work.

I have a similar question. I have an example that I made up:

Dogs have a unique quality in which several breeds have five paws and the rest may have four paws, three paws, or no paws.

Wouldn't you need a comma before the "and the rest" because these are two independent clauses? Or, does the parallel structure of "several breads have five paws" and "the rest may have four paws, three paws, or no paws" eliminate the need for the comma before the and?

Or do you purposely not need the comma to reduce any confusion with "and the rest may have four paws" from being seen as part of the list of elements "four paws, three paws, or no paws"?

Your first comment is correct, and I don’t think there’s any confusion with the list at the end (per your second comment). Here’s how I’d punctuate that one:

Dogs have a unique quality, in which several breeds have five paws, but the rest may have four paws, three paws, or no paws.

--You need a comma for “which” modifiers, thus the first comma.
--You have two clauses, both with subject and verb, connected by a FANBOYS. Thus, the second comma before “but.”
--I changed your “and” to a “but” just for meaning reasons, as you are trying to make a contrast. The punctuation would be the same for “and,” though.
--You correctly had the other commas in the 3-item list at the end.