Learn English – Verbs in a list separated by commas

commasverbs

I'm not talking about the basic items in a list (e.g. X, Y and Z), but a list of clauses (I think).

Example:

I am interested in things like going to this place, going to that place, eating food, and other things.
In that example, do the verbs have to match for proper grammar? What I learned in university writing class was that the entire series has to have verbs that match: going to this place, going to that place and going to eat.

Best Answer

The verb tenses certainly need to match. Just try it without matching them to see how horrible it sounds:

I enjoy things like play on the beach, going to the fair, and ate ice cream.

The verb itself doesn't have to match, but it's more aesthetically pleasing if it either matches all the way through or never matches: you can certainly say

I like going to the the beach, going to the mall, and playing hockey

but it would sound better if you either said

I like going to the beach, the mall, and the hockey rink

or

I like going to the beach, shopping at the mall, and playing hockey.

One thing you definitely want to avoid is starting a list with one verb form that's implied for the rest of the list, and then changing it partway through:

I like going to the beach, the mall, the theater, and playing hockey.

And finally, don't forget to stay away from syllepsis.

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