Examples of parallel structures with conjunctions in bold and the structures italicized:
With independent clauses:
Dona Maria acts as Cortes'
translator during his conquest of New Spain, and he probably
could not have
succeeded in conquering
the Aztecs without her help.
Without Dona Maria's help
Cortes could not have conquered Mexico, but he rarely gives
her the credit
that she deserves.
[When
joining independent clauses with a conjunction, use a comma before the
conjunction.]
With dependent clauses:
Freud argues that
the demands of civilization conflict with the demands of instinct and
that
this conflict is
a major source of discontent.
Cabeza de Vaca's journey
demonstrates that one can adapt to other cultures without surrendering
one's most
basic values but
that
such adaptation will not be easy.
With participial phrases:
Looking at Spanish
behavior through Indian eyes and considering forced conversion
to be unchristian, Los
Casas soundly condemns Spanish
cruelty.
Freud describes a divided ego, tempted by the id's desires yet constrained by the reality principle.
With two adjectives:
Constantly hungry
and
fearful of Indian reprisal if he refuses to cooperate, De Vaca
has little choice but to
embark on a career as a
medicine man.
Marlow can't decide whether the cannibals are savage or civilized.
With prepositional phrases:
The two goals of converting Indians and of acquiring wealth do not seem contradictory to Cortes.
Occuring after the birth
of modern science but before Darwinism, the argument
from design that Cleanthes
advances in Hume's Dialogues
is
typical of its time.