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Wholegrain Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Are these two sentences equivalent?

Banks without enough cash to weather a severe downturn may face the government becoming a direct owner.

Banks without enough cash to weather a severe downturn may face the prospect of the government becoming a direct owner.

  

Top answer

Yes. "

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7 Answers
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Yes.

Some might say that "government" should be possessive, "government's" when modifying the gerund "becoming."
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Thank you.

You mean it may be argued that it should be "government's becoming" and "becoming" should be a noun instead of a verb?
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Right. "Becoming" functions as direct object of the verb "to face." The "verbal" present participle "becoming" can function as an adjective or a noun. In the latter case, it's called a gerund.
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I'd prefer the use of "government" (i.e. without a possessive 's) in this case.

There is a nice little write-up about gerunds and possessives here (which may or may not support my preference):
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/ge
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Thanks, Amy. I'm always torn on some of these between conflicting instincts.
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wholegrainBanks without enough cash to weather a severe downturn may face the government becoming a direct owner.

Banks without enough cash to weather a severe downturn may face the prospect of the government becoming a direct owner.

The chart has the first; the narrator says the second. This is very common in television presentations. The
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CalifJim PS. And I don't see what the choice between government and government's has to do with your question.
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