A shifting structure and method which separates a shifting operation into partial shifts which may be executed in different pipeline staged is described herein. In a first pipe stage, an operand is read out and at least one partial shift is accomplished by placing the operand or parts thereof into registers coupled to a shift unit. The shift unit, in a second pipe stage, finalizes the shifting operation executing the remaining partial shifts, thereby reducing the time required for the total shifting operation. A control string is derived in the shift unit based on the shift amount to correct the output of the shifted result as well as providing for parity prediction therefor.