Question

read the sentence.
for optimal health, eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, ______, and sleep at least seven hours a night.
which clause completes the sentence by creating parallelism?
options:
exercising regularly
you get regular exercise
regular exercise
exercise regularly

Explanation:

To create parallelism, the structure of the clauses should match. The first clause is "eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables" (verb + object), and the third is "sleep at least seven hours a night" (verb + object). We need a clause with the same structure (verb + object). "regular exercise" is a noun phrase, "exercising regularly" is a gerund phrase, "you get regular exercise" has a subject, and "exercise regularly" is a verb phrase (verb + adverb) but when considering the parallel structure of "eat...", "exercise..." (verb + adverb + object? No, here "exercise regularly" as a verb phrase with the same verb - like structure as "eat" and "sleep". Wait, actually, the correct parallel structure would be a verb - based phrase. Wait, no, let's re - examine: "eat (verb) plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables (object)", "sleep (verb) at least seven hours a night (object)". So we need a clause with a verb. "exercise regularly" has the verb "exercise" and the adverb "regularly", matching the structure of "eat..." and "sleep...". Wait, but let's check the options again. Wait, the first part is "eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables" (verb + object), the third is "sleep at least seven hours a night" (verb + object). So the middle part should be a verb - based phrase. "exercise regularly" is a verb phrase (verb + adverb), which is parallel to "eat..." and "sleep...". Wait, but let's check the options:

• "exercising regularly": gerund phrase, not parallel to verb phrases.
• "you get regular exercise": has a subject, not parallel.
• "regular exercise": noun phrase, not parallel.
• "exercise regularly": verb phrase, parallel to "eat" and "sleep".

Wait, maybe I made a mistake. Wait, "eat", "exercise", "sleep" are all base - form verbs, so "exercise regularly" is parallel.

Answer:

exercise regularly