Grammar and Writing Tips - Correlative Conjunctions Can You Both Have Your Cake and Eat it too

Grammar and Writing Tips - Correlative Conjunctions Can You Both Have Your Cake and Eat it too If you are writing a college essay, resume or cover letter, you will benefit from this grammar tip on structuring sentences using correlative conjunctions.   A correlative conjunction is a conjunction used with another conjunction that is necessary to complete the thought. Both/and is a popular correlative conjunction pair.   (Other common examples are either/or and not only/but also.)   The word â€Å"both,† when used as a correlative conjunction, is always paired with the word â€Å"and.† For example, â€Å"I like both John and his dad.† Here’s the tricky part of correlative conjunctions:   The objects or actions they refer to, i.e., the items that fall both before and after the second conjunction (in this case â€Å"and†) MUST be parallel in construction.   They must, for example, be two nouns or two verbs or two of the same SOMETHING. In the examples above, â€Å"John† and â€Å"his dad† are both nouns and are thus parallel; â€Å"before† and â€Å"after† are both prepositions and are thus parallel.   Here are some more correct ways to use both/and: CORRECT:   That day I saw both the sunrise and the sunset. [â€Å"the sunrise† is parallel to â€Å"the sunset.†] CORRECT:   That day I saw the sun both rise and set. [â€Å"rise† is parallel to â€Å"set.†] What people often do is to insert their conjunctions in the wrong place. Fix #1: INCORRECT:   Why is it so hard to accept that someone can both be a woman and a doctor? See how the phrase after â€Å"both† (â€Å"be a woman†) is not parallel to the phrase after â€Å"and† (â€Å"a doctor†)?   â€Å"Be a woman† is a verb phrase, but â€Å"a doctor† is a noun phrase. How can we fix it?   Just move the word â€Å"both†: CORRECT:   Why is it so hard to accept that someone can be both a woman and a doctor? [â€Å"a woman† is parallel to â€Å"a doctor.†] Fix #2: INCORRECT:   I was interrogated for hours both in Italian and English. [â€Å"in Italian† is not parallel to â€Å"English.†] CORRECT:   I was interrogated for countless hours in both Italian and English. [â€Å"Italian† is parallel to â€Å"English.†] Fix #3: INCORRECT:   I’ve always been committed to progress both in my knowledge and skills. [See the error?] CORRECT:   I’ve always been committed to progress in both my knowledge and my skills. [â€Å"my knowledge is parallel to â€Å"my skills.†] Fix #4 INCORRECT:   I realized I could use this skill both to help myself and the entire student body. CORRECT:   I realized I could use this skill to help both myself and the entire student body. These errors are often hard to catch in your own writing.   They are extremely common!   I recommend doing a search for the word â€Å"both† in your document. Did you use your correlative conjunctions correctly?   Let us know what you found! Need more writing help?   Contact The Essay Expert for a FREE 15 minute consultation.