Have you also had sleepless nights about sentences such as these?

• What do you think of his deciding to go?
• What do you think of him deciding to go?

I always wonder if I know enough about gerunds and how to edit them correctly. The Oxford Dictionary defines a gerund as a verb form that functions as a noun. In English, it ends in -ing (eg asking in do you mind my asking you?).

Grammarbook.com explains: It is helpful to recognise gerunds because, if a noun or pronoun precedes a gerund, it is usually best to use the possessive form of that noun or pronoun.

• Correct: My running ahead bothered him.
• Incorrect: Me running ahead bothered him.
• Correct: Their separating does not mean they won’t continue to be good parents to their three children.
• Incorrect: Them separating does not mean they won’t continue to be good parents to their three children.

And these correct possessives:

• Alex’s skating was a joy to behold.
• Ben’s walking improved once his ankle healed.
• The girl’s dancing won her a trip to Hawaii.

In certain cases, a writer may wish to emphasise the actor more than the action. This would be a style choice specific to a writer’s intent.

• Emphasise gerund (action): What do you think of his deciding to go? [deciding is a gerund preceded by the possessive personal pronoun his]
• Emphasise actor (object): What do you think of him deciding to go? [deciding is the present participle agreeing with or developing from the accusative form of the personal pronoun him]

This information originated in a PEGforum thread, What is a gerund and why care, that started on Thursday 23 May, 2024, at 12:21.

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