For instance, if two verbs in a series of three are in a simple, active form, they all should be. My son can play the tuba, watch TV, and study calculus at the same time. Without parallelism, a sentence can be awkward and difficult to follow. Writers should take care to create parallel constructions, especially within series, pairs, comparisons, heads, and lists. The classroom was not only too hot in the winter but too cold in the summer.
Modifiers are words or groups of words that describe other parts of speech.
The position of modifiers in a sentence indicates which element or elements they modify. Modifiers positioned ambiguously, illogically, awkwardly, or where they alter the meaning of the sentence should be repositioned for clarity. A dangling modifier is a phrase or clause that by its position seems to modify the wrong word or phrase. This type of modifier often appears at the beginning of a sentence. Incorrect Having gone to the store, the rain started right after I got out of the car.