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Anonymous Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Himor His?

Hi,

I need a very detailed explanation on when to use him and his in this sentence:
Sentence: That problem of HIM or HIS (?) needs immediate action.

I tried using HIM which is normally used by people around me, sounds better. When I use HIS as per rule that it is the subject pronoun, it's awkward.

What is the S-V-A rule about this?

Thank you so much

Lynne
  

Top answer

Anonymous That problem of HIS As shown above. This is sometimes called a "double genitive" and sometimes called the "Anglo-Saxon genitive". It consists in using the possessive pronoun form after "of".

— CalifJim

  • Anonymous That problem of HIS As shown above.
  • This is sometimes called a "double genitive" and sometimes called the "Anglo-Saxon genitive".
  • It consists in using the possessive pronoun form after "of".
  • this coat of [mine / yours / his / hers / ours / theirs] CJ
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2 Answers
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AnonymousThat problem of HIS
As shown above. This is sometimes called a "double genitive" and sometimes called the "Anglo-Saxon genitive". It consists in using the possessive pronoun form after "of".
this coat of [mine / yours / his / hers / ours / theirs]
CJ
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"That problem of his needs immediate action" is correct, and means that the problem "belongs to him"; e.g. he is experiencing the problem, or he reported the problem. It means the same as "His problem needs immediate action".

"That problem of him needs immediate action" is not very good English. If it makes sense at all, it seems to be saying that he is the problem.
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