Question

choose the sentence that uses parallel structure correctly.

• the doctor told her patient to do some exercise, to not eat processed foods, and get plenty of sleep.
• the doctor told her patient to do some exercise, avoid eating processed foods, and also to get plenty of sleep.
• the doctor told her patient that he should exercise regularly, to not eat processed foods, and to get plenty of sleep.
• the doctor told her patient that he should exercise regularly, avoid eating processed foods, and get plenty of sleep.

Explanation:

Parallel structure requires consistent grammatical form for items in a list.

1. First option: Mixes "to do", "to not eat", "get" (infinitive, negative infinitive, base verb) – inconsistent.
2. Second option: Mixes "to do", "avoid", "to get" (infinitive, base verb, infinitive) – inconsistent.
3. Third option: Mixes "exercise" (base verb after "should"), "to not eat" (infinitive), "to get" (infinitive) – inconsistent.
4. Fourth option: Uses base verbs "exercise", "avoid", "get" all following "should" – consistent parallel structure.

Answer:

D. The doctor told her patient that he should exercise regularly, avoid eating processed foods, and get plenty of sleep.