密歇根新闻广播 "Your caring"的动名词结构

Let's say you're sending someone an email, maybe to thank them for visiting you in the hospital. Would you say "I appreciate you taking the time to stop by" or "I appreciate your taking the time to stop by"?

Believe it or not, some people have pretty strong feelings about which of these sentences is correct. For many of us though, it's the kind of thing that gives us pause.

First, a quick grammar refresher. A gerund is a verb with an "ing" ending that's used as a noun — for example, "his singing" or "the dog's barking." What often gives us trouble is whether to use the possessive form of the noun or pronoun that proceeds a gerund.

When grammarians addressed this issue in the 18th century, they said the possessive should never be used. Don't say "his singing" or "your stopping by." But other grammarians jumped in later and said the possessive is always right, and it's the other form — "him singing" or "you stopping by" — that's always wrong.

The truth is, there doesn't seem to be a hard and fast rule for this one.

Merriam Webster's Dictionary of Concise¹ Usage² points out that if you look at writers over the past 100 years, you'll find that many use both forms. For example, Flannery O'Connor wrote, "He approves of this one's being a girl." But she also wrote, "I can't see me letting Harold C. condense it."

There do seem to be some patterns. For example, personal pronouns tend to prefer the possessive, but the possessive doesn't always work. In this example from William Faulkner — "I would certainly insist on you all coming here" — changing "you all" to "you all's" makes the sentence sound strange.

Sometimes, it's better just to remove the pronoun entirely³. If the subject of the sentence is the same as what's going to be the pronoun, just get rid of the pronoun. "The students were happy about their having completed the difficult course" isn't wrong, but it does sound redundant⁴. It works fine without "their" — "The students were happy about having completed the difficult course."

In any case, if you're still sitting there, trying to decide whether to write "your stopping by" or "you stopping by," just pick the one that sounds best to you.

1 concise   

adj.简洁的，简明的

参考例句：

• The explanation in this dictionary is concise and to the point.这部词典里的释义简明扼要。
• I gave a concise answer about this.我对于此事给了一个简要的答复。

2 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。