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Use of Possessive Pronoun with Gerund-

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imhimanshu
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Use of Possessive Pronoun with Gerund- [#permalink] New post   28 Mar 2013, 05:04
Hi Experts,

Request you to please provide your reasoning on the below two sentences.

I know that the Rule is to use possessive pronoun with Gerunds, however I am confused how do you get to know if the noun phrase is being used as Gerund or Participle.

1) I appreciate you taking the time to read my novel
2) I appreciate your taking the time to read my novel

I know that sentence 2 is grammatically correct but the confusion is how do I make sure if I need to use possessive or not, and I would like to know the difference in the meanings between sentence 1 and 2 as well.

Please clarify.

Thanks
H
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Re: Use of Possessive Pronoun with Gerund- [#permalink] New post   28 Mar 2013, 05:33
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imhimanshu wrote:
Hi Experts,

Request you to please provide your reasoning on the below two sentences.

I know that the Rule is to use possessive pronoun with Gerunds, however I am confused how do you get to know if the noun phrase is being used as Gerund or Participle.

1) I appreciate you taking the time to read my novel
2) I appreciate your taking the time to read my novel

I know that sentence 2 is grammatically correct but the confusion is how do I make sure if I need to use possessive or not, and I would like to know the difference in the meanings between sentence 1 and 2 as well.

Please clarify.

Thanks
H


Hi Himanshu,

In the first sentence "taking..." is modifying "you", i.e. it is acting as a participle; whereas; in the second sentence "taking..." is acting as a gerund phrase or simply a noun phrase. Grammatically both may be correct, but logically sentence 2 makes more sense.

1) I appreciate you taking the time to read my novel --> "you" is being appreciated
2) I appreciate your taking the time to read my novel --> "taking the time" is being appreciated

To check whether a phrase is a noun phrase, replace it with a simple noun.

e.g. I appreciate your book. or I appreciate your advise. or I appreciate your consideration.

Consider the following examples where both the usages are correct.

I appreciate Tom Cruise doing a great job as an actor. --> "doing" is modifying "Tom Cruise", hence it is acting as a participle. Moreover appreciation is for Tom Cruise

I appreciate Tom Cruise's acting. -->"acting" is a gerund or a noun. The appreciation is for "acting".

Hope this helps,

Vercules
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Re: Use of Possessive Pronoun with Gerund- [#permalink] New post   28 Mar 2013, 05:14
I appreciate you taking the time to read my novel

this is wrong because the focus of the construction is the action--- your taking the time to read my novel--

but yes u can say :I appreciate you for taking the time to read my novel

Quote:
I know that the Rule is to use possessive pronoun with Gerunds


this is not always true
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Re: Use of Possessive Pronoun with Gerund- [#permalink] New post   28 Mar 2013, 05:42
Quote:
Hi Himanshu,

In the first sentence "taking..." is modifying "you", i.e. it is acting as a participle; whereas; in the second sentence "taking..." is acting as a gerund phrase or simply a noun phrase. Grammatically both may be correct, but logically sentence 2 makes more sense.

1) I appreciate you taking the time to read my novel --> "you" is being appreciated
2) I appreciate your taking the time to read my novel --> "taking the time" is being appreciated

To check whether a phrase is a noun phrase, replace it with a simple noun.

e.g. I appreciate your book. or I appreciate your advise. or I appreciate your consideration.

Consider the following examples where both the usages are correct.

I appreciate Tom Cruise doing a great job as an actor. --> "doing" is modifying "Tom Cruise", hence it is acting as a participle. Moreover appreciation is for Tom Cruise

I appreciate Tom Cruise's acting. -->"acting" is a gerund or a noun. The appreciation is for "acting".

Hope this helps,

Vercules


Hi Vercules,
So, it all goes down to Logical Meaning i.e the Intent of the Main Sentence.Correct.

Thanks
Himanshu
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Re: Use of Possessive Pronoun with Gerund- [#permalink] New post   28 Mar 2013, 05:43
aditya8062 wrote:
[

this is not always true


Can you please provide explanation to it.

Thanks
H
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Re: Use of Possessive Pronoun with Gerund- [#permalink] New post   28 Mar 2013, 05:48
Quote:
Can you please provide explanation to it.


i saw him walking down the lane !!

look at the intent of the sentence :u actually saw him walking and not "his walking"
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Re: Use of Possessive Pronoun with Gerund- [#permalink] New post   16 Sep 2021, 09:41
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

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Re: Use of Possessive Pronoun with Gerund- [#permalink]
16 Sep 2021, 09:41
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