{"id":3711,"date":"2020-10-13T23:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-10-14T05:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=3711"},"modified":"2020-12-09T16:20:48","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T22:20:48","slug":"expressing-possession-of-gerunds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/pronouns\/expressing-possession-of-gerunds\/","title":{"rendered":"Expressing Possession of Gerunds"},"content":{"rendered":"

A gerund is the present participle (-ing<\/em>) form of a verb functioning as a noun in a sentence.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/em><\/strong>
\nHe responded by <\/em>laughing.<\/em> (The gerund “laughing” is the noun object of the preposition “by.”)<\/span><\/p>\n

A gerund phrase is a gerund plus another element such as an adverb, an adjective, or a noun.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/em><\/strong>
\nSaving money helps protect against unexpected expenses. <\/em>(The gerund phrase “saving money” is the subject of the sentence; the noun “money” is the direct object of the gerund “saving.”)<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether we are writing or speaking, a common source of confusion is the possession of a gerund by a noun or a pronoun. Which of the following is correct in formal communication?<\/p>\n

We love the idea of <\/em>their building a new house.<\/em>
\nWe love the idea of <\/em>them building a new house.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

One way to determine this is to look at the phrase as pronoun <\/em>plus the word “action” (representing the gerund). Would we write “their action” or “them action”? We would write “their action.” Using a possessive noun or pronoun to describe an action (gerund) is the proper formal usage: We love the idea of <\/em>their building a new house.<\/em>
\nNote:<\/strong> A possessive pronoun may also be referred to as a possessive adjective.<\/p>\n

Correct: <\/em><\/strong>The<\/em> woman’s (possessive noun) departing (gerund) so soon from the meeting surprised everyone.<\/em>
\nIncorrect: <\/em><\/strong>The<\/em> woman departing so soon from the meeting surprised everyone.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Correct: <\/em><\/strong>The Smiths said that <\/em>our (possessive pronoun) traveling (gerund) to Indonesia has inspired them to do the same.<\/em>
\nIncorrect: <\/em><\/strong>The Smiths said that <\/em>us traveling to Indonesia has inspired them to do the same.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Correct: <\/em><\/strong>Did your parents approve of <\/em>your (possessive pronoun) going (gerund) to the prom?<\/em>
\nIncorrect: <\/em><\/strong>Did your parents approve of <\/em>you going to the prom?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

On occasion, we may wish to place greater emphasis on the actor instead of the action. In this case, we would not use a possessive noun or pronoun with a gerund; rather, we would use a non-possessive noun or an objective pronoun (e.g., me, him, us, them<\/em>) modified by a participle serving as an adjective.<\/p>\n

This usage may be influenced by the context or wording in which it appears.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/em><\/strong> The mysterious <\/em>woman departing from the meeting early almost went unnoticed, but Jackie saw her go<\/em>.<\/em> (The noun “woman” is the sentence subject modified by the participle “departing.” The focus is more on the actor than the action.)<\/span><\/p>\n

The following comparisons further reinforce the difference between a possessive noun or pronoun + gerund and an objective noun or pronoun + participle:<\/p>\n

Jake’s lifting<\/em> the full beer keg was impressive. (“Lifting” is a gerund preceded by a possessive noun so we know the emphasis is on the act of lifting.)
\nWe saw Jake lifting<\/em> the full beer keg. (“Lifting” is a participle modifying an objective noun so we know the emphasis is on the actor rather than the action.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Note that we should avoid awkward use of a possessive noun or pronoun and a gerund.<\/p>\n

Awkward:<\/em><\/strong> The committee agreed on someone’s being sent to meet with the union representative.<\/em>
\nBetter: <\/em><\/strong>The committee agreed on sending someone to meet with the union representative.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By ensuring proper pairings between gerunds and possessive nouns or pronouns, we can communicate with greater precision that shows our care for good grammar.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Using what you’ve learned in this article, choose the correct gerund phrase emphasizing the action<\/strong> in each sentence.<\/p>\n

1. [Samantha’s singing \/ Samantha singing] impressed the audience.<\/p>\n

2. We’re reading the article about [Bob climbing \/ Bob’s climbing] Mt. Everest.<\/p>\n

3. Have you heard of [him running \/ his running] for park district commissioner?<\/p>\n

4. I’m looking forward to [their cooking \/ them cooking] at the block party this weekend.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. Samantha’s singing<\/strong> impressed the audience.<\/p>\n

2. We’re reading the article about Bob’s climbing<\/strong> Mt. Everest.<\/p>\n

3. Have you heard of his running<\/strong> for park district commissioner?<\/p>\n

4. I’m looking forward to their<\/strong> cooking<\/strong> at the block party this weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A gerund is the present participle (-ing) form of a verb functioning as a noun in a sentence. Example: He responded by laughing. (The gerund “laughing” is the noun object of the preposition “by.”) A gerund phrase is a gerund plus another element such as an adverb, an adjective, or a noun. Example: Saving money […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,10,12,72,34,48,33,8,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adjectives-adverbs","category-definitions","category-effective-writing","category-nouns","category-possessives","category-prefixes-and-suffixes","category-prepositions","category-pronouns","category-verbs"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3711"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}