Being annoyed

Yes.

Do you see that it's a bit ambiguous?

The noun or pronoun before a gerund should be in the possessive form.

I don't like Sara's being there.
I'm sick of your singing in class.
His worrying will make him crazy.
Fred's drinking is getting out of hand.
I don't think their planning the vacation so much in advance will make a difference in the quality of the trip.

EnglishmavenThe noun or pronoun before a gerund should be in the possessive form.

When speaking formally but, it is common in informal language for it not to be. Informally, people often say things like I don't like Sara being there.

That's true, but that doesn't mean it's acceptable. We frequently hear a lot of errors from native speakers in formal and informal settings. It's still not standard English. I'm not being prescriptive. This is still being tested on standardized tests, so we need to continue teaching the correct form. I stand by my answer. I don't think anyone who knows this rule of English doesn't use it on purp

Englishmaventhat doesn't mean it's acceptable.

I think it is acceptable in BrE in all but the most formal language.Writers have failed to reach agreement on this since Fowler and Jespersen discussed it in the tracts of the Society for Pure English in the 1920s.

EnglishmavenIt's still not standard English

It is, in my opi

"I don't like Sara's being annoyed" is the right way to do this, but I would not skin anyone for saying "I don't like Sara being annoyed". It's acceptable enough for me to look the other way. It is certainly a far lighter grammatical demeanour than some of the other things native speakers often say (e.g. "there is many people who believe...", "John and myself went shopping", etc.).

Xerxes"I don't like Sara's being annoyed" is the right way to do this

And, since English is a logical language, you also say:
I don't like the British's being annoyed.

CB

Cool Breeze Xerxes"I don't like Sara's being annoyed" is the right way to do thisAnd, since English is a logical language, you also say:I don't like the British's being annoyed.CB

And I don't like Xerxes's being criticised..

EnglishmavenI don't like Sara's being there.

In my opinion, the discussion about the genitive Sara's and nominative Sara in I don't like Sara's being there is hairsplitting.

Both Sara's being and Sara being may be considered non-finite clauses which differ in that that the nominative form seems to be more 'dynamic' i

Hi

- This is me saying what I think

- This is my saying what I think

I prefer the first!

Dave