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Passive gerund vs. active gerund?

General English Grammar & Vocabulary,... » ESL General English Grammar Questions

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Latest post Mon, Nov 3 2008 10:56 PM by CalifJim. 1 replies.
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Anonymous  +  583322 Mon, 03 Nov 08 10:33 PM
I feel if a gerund is in passive form, a good (correct?) form to use is a possessive like 'his' or 'her' rather than an object pronoun like 'him' or 'her'. Is that just  a thought of that can hold no water?

eg.
I feel him being (able to be) in my birthday party is good.
Not good: I feel his being (able to be be) in my birthday party is good.


But, if the gerund is in active form, I feel the opposite.

eg.
I applaud his coming back to our team and playing for us.
Not good: I applaud him coming back to our team and playing for us. 
Anonymous
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CalifJim  +  583333 Mon, 03 Nov 08 10:56 PM
Anonymous
“Is that just  a thought of that can hold no water?”
I'm afraid so.  Crying

It is often said that only the possessive form is correct, but in reality you'll find the possessive and the objective forms in free variation.  It is often more a matter of the preceding verb.  Some seem to go with the possessive more often; some, with the objective; others, with either, depending on emphasis.

It's not clear to me what you mean by a passive and an active gerund, either.

(By the way, it's at my birthday party, not in my birthday party.  Smile )

CJ 
CalifJim
Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004
California
Veteran Member 22,465
"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche
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