Which case for subject of gerund which is subject of sentence?
"Him eating the cake was a surprise"
or
"He eating the cake was a surprise"
Which one and why?
I know with nominative absolutes, we use nominative, which throws me off in cases like this.
"He eating the cake, we became surprised."
Top answer
Pronoun subjects of gerund-participial clauses may either be genitive or accusative case: in your example either "his" or "him". Nominative case pronouns like "he" are not permitted, except as subject of an adjunct, cf. She sought advice from Ed, [ he / him being the most experienced of her colleagues ] .
- Pronoun subjects of gerund-participial clauses may either be genitive or accusative case: in your example either "his" or "him".
- Nominative case pronouns like "he" are not permitted, except as subject of an adjunct, cf.
- She sought advice from Ed, [ he / him being the most experienced of her colleagues ] .
- Genitive subjects of adjuncts are not permitted at all.
- Generally, the genitive case is seen as being formal with accusative being neutral.
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Pronoun subjects of gerund-participial clauses may either be genitive or accusative case: in your example either "his" or "him".
Nominative case pronouns like "he" are not permitted, except as subject of an adjunct, cf. She sought advice from Ed, [he / him being the most experienced of her colleagues]. Genitive subjects of adjuncts are not permit
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