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Falconer Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Gerund or not?
Hello.
I was hoping that you could shed some light on whether the following construction is a gerund (or compound gerund, perhaps).
"With him being so close in age and having similar interests, I'm sure they'll get along fine."
"With his being so close in age and having similar interests, I'm sure they'll get along fine."
It seems to me that the latter is the correct one, but it's been a while since I actively used English.
I was hoping that you could shed some light on whether the following construction is a gerund (or compound gerund, perhaps).
"With him being so close in age and having similar interests, I'm sure they'll get along fine."
"With his being so close in age and having similar interests, I'm sure they'll get along fine."
It seems to me that the latter is the correct one, but it's been a while since I actively used English.
Top answer
The latter is indeed the 'correct' one for formal writing, and 'being' is a gerund. The first sentence is however becoming more and more common, and is seldom complained about nowadays (except by me).
- The latter is indeed the 'correct' one for formal writing, and 'being' is a gerund.
- The first sentence is however becoming more and more common, and is seldom complained about nowadays (except by me).
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5 Answers
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The latter is indeed the 'correct' one for formal writing, and 'being' is a gerund. The first sentence is however becoming more and more common, and is seldom complained about nowadays (except by me).
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I HAVE CHECKED MY GRAMMAR BOOKS BEFORE POSTING
(1) I most respectfully suggest that at least some English usage
experts say that neither one of your sentences is "really"
correct -- although, of course, they are very common.
(2) These experts (such as Mr. Bryan A. Garner in his Dictionary of
Modern American Usage) would have yo
(1) I most respectfully suggest that at least some English usage
experts say that neither one of your sentences is "really"
correct -- although, of course, they are very common.
(2) These experts (such as Mr. Bryan A. Garner in his Dictionary of
Modern American Usage) would have yo
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Mister MicawberThe latter is indeed the 'correct' one for formal writing, and 'being' is a gerund. The first sentence is however becoming more and more common, and is seldom complained about nowadays (except by me).Thank you. That the former was the more colloquial option seemed clear, but I wasn't entirely certain of whether it was a gerund.
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Anonymous(1) I most respectfully suggest that at least some English usageI'd be interested to know why. Whilst I don't find them very appealing, I wouldn't have said that they were incorrect (the latter, anyway). I didn't write
experts say that neither one of your sentences is "really"
correct -- although, of course, they are very common.
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I HAVE CHECKED MY GRAMMAR BOOKS BEFORE POSTING
(1) If I understand Mr. Garner's reasoning:
(a) Adding with changes a nominative absolute to what he
calls an "objective absolute." (I guess that he means the preposition
with throws he (nominative) into the objective (him). Mr. Garner does
not seem happy with this.
(1) If I understand Mr. Garner's reasoning:
(a) Adding with changes a nominative absolute to what he
calls an "objective absolute." (I guess that he means the preposition
with throws he (nominative) into the objective (him). Mr. Garner does
not seem happy with this.
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