0
Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Does this sentence sound natural to Native speakers?

Please have a look at the sentences below.

"Dan kissing Mary bothered her parents."
"Dan kissing Mary in front of their parents bothered them."

I heard that the above sentences are perfect.
Then, what about the following? I would like to know how Native speakers feel.

(1)Did Dan kissing Mary bother her parent?

(2)Did Dan kissing Mary in front of their parents bother them?

Thank you for your help.
  

Top answer

I don't think they are perfect, and I don't like any of them-- and I also think that I have already responded to this post. Please don't double-post. This is what I like: Dan's kissing Mary bothered her parents.

  • I don't think they are perfect, and I don't like any of them-- and I also think that I have already responded to this post.
  • Please don't double-post.
  • This is what I like: Dan's kissing Mary bothered her parents.
  • Dan's kissing Mary in front of their parents bothered them.
  • Did Dan's kissing Mary bother her parents ?
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

2 Answers
0
.
I don't think they are perfect, and I don't like any of them-- and I also think that I have already responded to this post. Please don't double-post.

This is what I like:

Dan's kissing Mary bothered her parents.
Dan's kissing Mary in front of their parents bothered them.
Did Dan's kissing Mary bother her parents?
Did Dan's
0
I owe you very much, sir. But, I think I didn't post this before...

This is called "accusative+gerund construction" and is reported to be really grammatical in English Linguistics' paper. I know it is much preferred to use the form "genitive", but I've got you native speakers feel these odd.

Related Questions