By Possessives, Idioms

Hi Tanit, I don't think "help me to X" is wrong but not necessary. This may be a BrE/AmE difference though. In fact, you will hear him being, his seeing, etc, but the correct version is his being. For an exam, without hesitation, I would use only the possessive. As you know, BrE idioms aren't...

Hi Barbara,Thank you very much!May I ask a couple of clarifications about sentences no. 1 and no. 4? Grammar Geek wrote:1. Could you help me tackle this problem? He should …………… promoted out of his mind.He should push any thoughts of him being promoted out of his mind. of HIS being promoted...

Hi Zhuricki No, the rules haven't changed and there is no difference between British and American English here. 'In search of' is a special idiomatic phrase and means the same thing as 'looking for' or 'seeking'. As is normally the case with idioms, 'in search of' is a fixed grouping of...

I guess you don't get out much, Anon. Here is a sampling of respectable online sources. Doing a bit of Google research yourself will turn up many, many more.The American Heritage Dictionary: Grammarians have sometimes objected to the so-called double genitive construction, as in a friend of my...

OK-- please ignore all my other rambling above. Let's go back to your originals. They belong to two groups of verbs that do not take the active voice: 1) The situation is said to be critical. (this structure with say, repute, rumour, see does not have an active form) 2) These types of...