Eddie88  +  693512 Thu, 02 Apr 09 09:29 AM Hi, how can I tell if this is a gerund or a participle? Knowing which verbal this is helps me determine the case of the pronoun: objective or possessive. The indication for my progress in regards to time management comes from my completing tasks on time. Is it 'my' because it is a gerund phrase (noun). A noun has to be the object of the preposition (object of the preposition 'from'). Here is another one: If you don't mind my asking. Why is asking a gerund and not a participle modifying 'me' "if you don't mind me asking" Thanks for your help Eddie88 Joined on Mon, Nov 10 2008 New Zealand Full Member 466 Regards, Possessives, Prepositions, Nouns, Pronouns, Gerunds

	Cool Breeze  +  693552 Thu, 02 Apr 09 12:39 PM The subject of the gerund need not always be in a possessive form. Mind requires the gerund and that's why asking is a gerund in your example. In informal style the object form is often used: If you don't mind me/my asking... Insisting on a possessive form would give ridiculous results: If you don't mind English's being spoken... It is chiefly people who don't know enough about English grammar that insist on always using the possessive form for the subject of the gerund. If you are interested in my opinions about the gerund, you can read them here,here and here. CB Cool Breeze Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006 Senior Member 3,970 "I hope you'll all live to be 150 years old - and the last voice you hear is mine!" Frank Sinatra on stage in Oslo, Norway, 28 September 1991 Grammar, Possessives, Gerunds, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Styles, Languages

	Eddie88  +  693743 Thu, 02 Apr 09 10:19 PM After reading your posts, I see that you believe either case is correct, and you put forth a strong argument. If I were to use the possessive case with gerunds, however, I firstly need to know if a verbal in a sentence is in fact a gerund or a participle. Generally, distinguishing between the two non finite verbs is easy, as gerunds take the place of a noun (appositive, subj, object, etc) and participles function adjectivally modifying a noun. With the two sentences I provided above, could you please talk me through how you determined why they were gerunds. Personally, I  determined that they were gerunds by realising they were both objects of the verbs proceeding them, but if you have another way to distinguish them, could you please share this with me. Additionally, since you seem to know quite a lot about this, can you read over my post on the following discussion (scroll down once you're there). No one seems to know the answer.  The discussion is on the uses/types of ing phrases (free modifiers). http://www.englishforums.com/English/Participle/vmcp/post.htm Thanks a load!! Eddie88 Possessives, Nouns, Gerunds, Sentences, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Apologies, Languages

	Goodman  +  693757 Thu, 02 Apr 09 11:50 PM Eddie88, Within the confine of this type of sentences. It's rather simple to identify the ing form of the verbs and their functions.  By locating the pronoun "my", the following ing for of a verb is always a gerrund . If you replace the ing verb with a noun following a pronoun, it obvious that compleing and asking are gerunds The indication for my progress in regards to time management comes from my completing tasks on time.                                                                                                                                  Here is another one: If you don't mind my [question] asking Goodman Joined on Mon, Nov 7 2005 Senior Member 3,816 The name says it all! Regards, Nouns, Pronouns, Sentences

	Eddie88  +  693774 Fri, 03 Apr 09 02:01 AM Hi, Goodman. In regards to your idea of replacing the gernd with a noun, I had thught of that, but I was unsure whether it was full proof or not. Thanks for letting me know that this is a good test! I didn't want his getting in the way of things I didn't want his car in the way of things. Getting=Gerund Thanks a lot! Eddie88 Regards, Nouns

	Goodman  +  693821 Fri, 03 Apr 09 05:10 AM Glad I could help! It seems like a noun is messing from the sentence here: I didn't want his brother getting in the way of things Goodman Nouns, Sentences

	Goodman  +  693860 Fri, 03 Apr 09 07:33 AM Yes, It's my damned fingers again trying to go faster than my train of thoughts.. I did mean "missing". Goodman

	Cool Breeze  +  693890 Fri, 03 Apr 09 08:51 AM Eddie88 “With the two sentences I provided above, could you please talk me through how you determined why they were gerunds” In the grammatical classification I am familiar with, the first ing-form is a gerund because of the preposition (from) that precedes it. Prepositions are followed by gerunds:  I had an opportunity of visiting Cape Town. | They were talking about leaving the country. | I look forward to seeing him there. The other ing-form is due to the verb mind, which is one of those verbs that always take a gerund, never an infinitive: Would you mind opening the window? | I don't mind going there. As for the thread you referred me to, I don't particularly care what grammatical labels people put on words and expressions. There are so many, and there's always bound to be disagreement and diverse terms used. Native grammarians don't agree on what the parts of speech are in the English language! Why should we care  -  or agree? I am far more interested in what is considered correct than these labels. Incidentally, with regard to and in regard to are correct. In regards to is incorrect. CB Cool Breeze Regards, Prepositions, Gerunds, Sentences, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Speaking, Chat, Friendships, Speeches, Languages