subject of gerund

Question

Hi there teachers,

I think the -ing forms are gerunds in all the cases below. Am I right about my thinking, teachers? If they are gerunds, then could you please tell me the subject of each gerund in the cases below? Is there any difference in meanings of 1., 1.1. and 1.2. and between 2., 2.1., and 2.2., please?

1. John is proud of his daughter winning the price.
1.1. John is proud of his daughter's winning the price.
1.2. John is proud of winning the price.

2. I remember John leaving his house with a black dog.
2.1. I remember John's leaving his house with a black dog.
2.2. I remember leaving his house with a black dog.

Thank you.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

1.0 and 2.0 are not gerunds; the others are.  The subjects of 1.1. and 2.1 should be obvious; the subjects of 1.2 and 2.2 are the subjects of the main clause.  There is no difference in intent between the .0s and the .1s.  The .2s obviously have a different winner and leaver.

Laborious · Answer

Thank you very much, Mister Micawber, for your reply.

If the -ing words in 1.0 and 2.0 are not gerunds, could you please tell me what they are?

Now, I understand that the subjects of the -ing words in 1.1 and 2.1 are nouns in possessive case. But would you please tell me what the subjects of the -ing words are in sentences like 1.0 and 2.0?

Thank you once again!

Mister Micawber · Answer

If the -ing words in 1.0 and 2.0 are not gerunds, could you please tell me what they are? -- They are classed as nonfinite clauses complementing the noun (daughter, John), I think.

Now, I understand that the subjects of the -ing words in 1.1 and 2.1 are nouns in possessive case. But would you please tell me what the subjects of the -ing words are in sentences like 1.0 and 2.0? -- I presume we are speaking of notional subjects (since the possessives are such) not grammatical ones, so they would be daughter and John again, I suppose.

This is not my forte; I am just attempting to repeat what I have read here on previous threads.

Cool Breeze · Answer

LaboriousNow, I understand that the subjects of the -ing words in 1.1 and 2.1 are nouns in possessive case. But would you please tell me what the subjects of the -ing words are in sentences like 1.0 and 2.0?

I and all the grammarians I am familiar with disagree with Mr M on this. The following excerpt is from A Practical English Grammar for Foreign Students by A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet.

Pronouns and possessive adjectives with gerunds.
In formal English the possessive adjective is used with the gerund:

She doesn't mind my coming in late.
I don't like his borrowing money.
It's no use their complaining aboutt.

But in spoken English and less formal English, it is very common to use the accusative of the personal pronoun instead:

I don't like them coming here.
They don't remember him paying the money.
She doesn't like me borrowing her car.

Nouns with gerunds.

In formal English, nouns denoting persons are put into the possessive case when used with gerunds:

I dislike my mother's interfering in the affair.
I remember Tom's going there.

But in informal English the genitive is usually dropped:

I dislike my mother interfering.
I remember Tom going there.

I have seen slightly different opinions as to which form is to be preferred is is the more common. It is sometimes impossible to have the possessive case however formal English one wants to write: I insisted on English being spoken.

CB

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Gerund or participle?
This has been a subject of analysis and debate since Fowler's extensive treatise on the subject:

http://www.bartleby.com/116/212.html

I suppose that there will always be differing opinions among the linguists!

subject of gerund

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