-1

Should I use

You are granted the choice to either be my friend or my enemy.

or

You are granted the choice of either being my friend or my enemy.

?

It's for my poem and I want to double-check.

A E
  • 6,612
Serah Hope
  • 1
  • Put the "either" before "my friend" in either case, not where you have it. – Robusto Dec 08 '14 at 21:00
  • It's not about "either" it's about "choice of" and "choice to" Are they both correct or do they slightly change the meaning of the sentence? – Serah Hope Dec 08 '14 at 21:02
  • Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Either way, the "either" is in an awkward place. – Robusto Dec 08 '14 at 21:03
  • It'd be "choice of" vs "choice to" – Serah Hope Dec 08 '14 at 21:04
  • Poems do not need grammar, but usage would prefer 'You are granted the choice of being my friend or my enemy'. – kennebec Dec 08 '14 at 21:04
  • They don't? How come? – Serah Hope Dec 08 '14 at 21:06
  • Because: poetry is what you make it mean. – Robusto Dec 08 '14 at 21:09
  • It's a little hard to comprehend, but thank you. You've helped me greatly. – Serah Hope Dec 08 '14 at 21:12
  • 2
    Rather than saying poems do not need grammar, it's more accurate to say that poems can break grammatical rules with less censure than prose can. Because poetry depends so much on things like meter, it's considered acceptable by most to bend rules of grammar in situations when following them would ruin the meter or some other "poetic" aspect of the poem. – Nicole Dec 08 '14 at 21:33

1 Answers1

0

American here, I would use 'choice between' two things: "You are granted the choice between being my friend or my enemy," without the word either. Another formulation would be "You can be either my friend or my enemy." but if you want to keep the word choice then go by the first option.

Keep in mind that since this is for a creative writing piece you do have the liberty of adapting grammar rules to whatever floats your boat, whether to fit a meter or to sound jarring to capture the readers attention, etc. Grammar just becomes guideline at this point.

Good luck with your composition!

Faraz Masroor
  • 389