Make a big deal of his or him
Hi,
"He made a really big deal of him leaving for Austria. He even threw a big farewell party."
"He made a really big deal of his leaving for Austria. He even threw a big farewell party."
I heard the first sentence on a podcast. Is it also considered correct or should I always stick with the second option?
Thank you.
Top answer
"his" is traditionally or formally correct, but in ordinary language many (probably most) people would use "him", and it would not be seen or noticed as an error.
- "his" is traditionally or formally correct, but in ordinary language many (probably most) people would use "him", and it would not be seen or noticed as an error.
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"his" is traditionally or formally correct, but in ordinary language many (probably most) people would use "him", and it would not be seen or noticed as an error.
0Ann225should I always stick with the second option?
Yes. Well, almost always. There are occasions where using the possessive with the gerund sounds overnice or clumsy, but I can't think of any right now. In this case, sentence 1 is wrong, although so many people do say it that way that I suspect most people can't tell the difference.
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