Is this grammatically correct?

[tomlitilia]

Like the title says – is the sentence below grammatically correct?

But wouldn't it be the ultimate act of liberty – to be naked in this beautiful landscape, thousands of miles away from home?

 

[legerdemer]

Like the title says – is the sentence below grammatically correct?

But wouldn't it be the ultimate act of liberty – to be naked in this beautiful landscape, thousands of miles away from home?

IMO, yes. Though you could substitute the hyphen with a comma, I like the hyphen - it emphasizes what comes after it.

 

[Handley_Page]

Like the title says – is the sentence below grammatically correct?

But wouldn't it be the ultimate act of liberty – to be naked in this beautiful landscape, thousands of miles away from home?

I think one can also substitute the semi-colon for the hyphen.

But wouldn't it be the ultimate act of liberty; to be naked in this beautiful landscape, thousands of miles away from home?

 

[legerdemer]

I think one can also substitute the semi-colon for the hyphen.

But wouldn't it be the ultimate act of liberty; to be naked in this beautiful landscape, thousands of miles away from home?

I respectfully disagree with you there, HP - the semi-colon suggests much more independence between what's before and what's after, whereas in this case what's before refers very specifically to what comes after. So I think a semi-colon would change the meaning of the sentence too much.

 

[Handley_Page]

I respectfully disagree with you there, HP - the semi-colon suggests much more independence between what's before and what's after, whereas in this case what's before refers very specifically to what comes after. So I think a semi-colon would change the meaning of the sentence too much.

OK. I had not thought of that
{ Drat - Blast, . . .muttered imprecations }

 

[HeyAll]

I don't see a problem with that.

My philosophy has always been, if you can break the rules and no one would complain, you didn't really break the rule, because no one has noticed.

The most important thing is that it makes sense, you didn't break any of the important rules, and the sentence looks beautiful.

 

[Hypoxia]

The hyphen is best, or a dash. Comma, colon, semicolon, all imply different levels of connectivity and establish different rhythms.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Like the title says – is the sentence below grammatically correct?

But wouldn't it be the ultimate act of liberty – to be naked in this beautiful landscape, thousands of miles away from home?

I would say it is technically ungrammatical to begin a sentence with a conjunction. However, assuming the sentence is in context, I would call it correct.

English is a living language and if what you write conveys your meaning in the way you want, it is correct. If your first sentence is critical of running around naked in a wilderness or somewhere and the given sentence refutes the first one, it is properly written and grammatical because the meaning is being conveyed.

The hyphen is correct and a semicolon would not be. The latter would make the sentence a complex one, except the subordinate clause does not include a verb.

 

[sr71plt]

The sentence is fine grammatically, other than that hyphen should be an em dash. It wouldn't be proper to substitute a semicolon for the em dash (it's not a hyphen; that too would be improper).

 

[NotWise]

I tend to downplay use of commas. My first reaction was that I would prefer no punctuation in place of the dash, but I think that's a matter of taste rather than grammar. If this is dialogue then grammar may not be important anyway.

Beginning a sentence with a conjunction is okay, but most of us were taught at some time or another not to do it. According to "Grammar Girl" that is because the practice can be overused and teachers decided to ban them rather than trying to moderate their use.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

Like the title says – is the sentence below grammatically correct?

But wouldn't it be the ultimate act of liberty – to be naked in this beautiful landscape, thousands of miles away from home?

Grammatically, it's fine.

Semantically, I ended up wondering why distance from home affected liberty. Then I started to question why the beauty of the landscape had anything to do with liberty. And what an ultimate act of liberty would really look like and why it should involve nakedness especially. And I ended up contemplating whether clothing really amounted to servitude. Then I decided I was overthinking it.

 

[Hypoxia]

Grammatically, it's fine.

Semantically, I ended up wondering why distance from home affected liberty. Then I started to question why the beauty of the landscape had anything to do with liberty. And what an ultimate act of liberty would really look like and why it should involve nakedness especially. And I ended up contemplating whether clothing really amounted to servitude. Then I decided I was overthinking it.

No, this is worth examining.

The problem is 'liberty', implying responsibility. Rights and privileges impose obligations. Your right to swing your fist ends at my nose. A privilege to drive requires following the rules of the road. Et cetera. Freedom lacks such moral constraints -- no recognition that others possess rights.

Both liberty and freedom graph our relations with others; we can be free with ourselves, also. Standing naked, alone, far from home, might be an act of escape or transcendence or some other transition, but it's hardly an "act of liberty". Such only makes sense as a political statement. Voting, exercising citizenship, standing against oppression -- these are acts of liberty.

A nude dude viewing a sublime scene may find freedom from care and his own past and hangups. He may feel unleashed waves of emotion, insight, clarity, opportunity, destiny. Leaving home lets us reinvent ourselves. But I'd call it an act of transcendence, of personal transformation -- a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.

 

[sr71plt]

I don't think it's worth examining in this context. It was a single sentence and question was a technical one over the grammar of a single sentence. We have no idea how it fits into the context of the story. There are no grounds--other than trying to supplant someone else's writing with your own, which is sort of egotistical--to be extrapolating content meaning from a question on the grammar of a single sentence.

 

[SamScribble]

I would say it is technically ungrammatical to begin a sentence with a conjunction.

And I would ask: where have you been for the past 400 or so years?

 

[Hypoxia]

Ego? Me?

Perish the thought.

Be sure to capture my best profile.

And I *will* insist on the political significance of 'liberty'.

 

[sr71plt]

Ego? Me?

Well, no, you initially contained yourself to the question being asked, and the second time didn't pretend that you were still dealing with the question being asked. So, not ego as I was noting it here. But those who, when asked a simple question on punctuation, for instance, and then go on rewrite everything to their own voice and opinions, yes, I think are letting their ego-centrism take over.

 

[SlightlyGone]

No, this is worth examining.

The problem is 'liberty', implying responsibility. Rights and privileges impose obligations. Your right to swing your fist ends at my nose. A privilege to drive requires following the rules of the road. Et cetera. Freedom lacks such moral constraints -- no recognition that others possess rights.

Both liberty and freedom graph our relations with others; we can be free with ourselves, also. Standing naked, alone, far from home, might be an act of escape or transcendence or some other transition, but it's hardly an "act of liberty". Such only makes sense as a political statement. Voting, exercising citizenship, standing against oppression -- these are acts of liberty.

A nude dude viewing a sublime scene may find freedom from care and his own past and hangups. He may feel unleashed waves of emotion, insight, clarity, opportunity, destiny. Leaving home lets us reinvent ourselves. But I'd call it an act of transcendence, of personal transformation -- a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.

You know what else is an act of liberty? ... A sailor being permitted to go ashore.Very political, that one. Doesn't matter how you view the word, it has its meanings and it fits in the sentence.

 

[SarahsHooters]

A colon would work better than a semi-colon, but a dash is fine.

 

[Hypoxia]

You know what else is an act of liberty? ... A sailor being permitted to go ashore.Very political, that one. Doesn't matter how you view the word, it has its meanings and it fits in the sentence.

The MC went ashore to get drunk, screwed, and tattooed? I missed that.

The word 'liberty' does not fit within the sentence's context. But a dash is correct.

 

[SlightlyGone]

The MC went ashore to get drunk, screwed, and tattooed? I missed that.

The word 'liberty' does not fit within the sentence's context. But a dash is correct.

I don't think you know all the ways to use the word liberty.

 

[NoJo]

I vote for the colon, or, better still, no conjunctive punctuation at all. But I read the sentence as you posted it, using a short dash, without a qualm.

If, like me, you prefer short punchy writing, you might go for:

The ultimate act of liberty: Naked in this beautiful landscape, thousands of miles from home.

The word "away" doesn't add the to the power of your sentence, or change the meaning significantly.

 

[sr71plt]

A colon would work better than a semi-colon, but a dash is fine.

A colon wouldn't work at all, at least in American style, if you wanted it to be grammatical. Colons aren't used in this construction at all.

See the Chicago Manual of Style, 6.59 through 6.65

 

[sr71plt]

I vote for the colon, or, better still, no conjunctive punctuation at all. But I read the sentence as you posted it, using a short dash, without a qualm.

A short dash (a hyphen or even an en dash) wouldn't be grammatical. An em dash would be, but what was given isn't a publisher's em dash. Em dashes don't have spaces around them in publishing.

It's sort of wild what folks are coming up with in suggestions. More evidence of the lack of English grammar training in the school system?

 

[Hypoxia]

I don't think you know all the ways to use the word liberty.

I have been familiar with the word for some time. Liberty can imply freedom, permission, rights, exemption, insolence, disrespect. True, I may have missed some usages. But an *act* of liberty is political.

 

[Serafina1210]

Strictly speaking, what you have here is an appositive: the noun "liberty" in apposition with an infinitive phrase running from "to be naked" to the end of the sentence (this infinitive phrase functions as a noun).

The usual rule for appositives is that you set them off with commas when they're providing supplementary information--when the sentence is intelligible without them. But in informal writing (which Lit writing almost always is), you can usually substitute a dash for a comma, and sometimes a semicolon. You can even get away without any punctuation at all.