Preceding a Gerund with a Possessive

Preceding a Gerund with a Possessive Preceding a Gerund with a Possessive Preceding a Gerund with a Possessive By Maeve Maddox A gerund is an -ing verb form that is used as a noun. Like any other noun, a gerund can function as the subject or object of a verb, or as the object of a preposition: 1. Gardening is my favorite hobby. (noun, subject of is) 2. He likes shooting skeet. (noun, object of likes) 3. He loves to talk about hunting. (noun, object of the preposition about) 4. Do you mind my asking a question? (noun, object of mind) This post is about the use of my in the fourth example. Why precede the gerund asking with the possessive adjective my? Why not write, â€Å"Do you mind me asking a question?† In this sentence, the word asking is a gerund. A gerund is a noun. Nouns are modified by adjectives, not by other nouns or pronouns. Consider: Because some people don’t like animals, I ask a guest, â€Å"Do you mind my dog?† I wouldn’t say, â€Å"Do you mind me dog.† Ergo, I wouldn’t say, â€Å"Do you mind me asking?† That’s the reasoning and the rule. Then there’s popular usage: If you don’t mind him calling you at work, give him your business card. If you don’t mind them losing your possessions, then this is the hotel for you. You should take out the garbage without me asking. H. W. Fowler calls the construction of preceding a gerund with a noun or accusative pronoun a â€Å"fused participle† and devotes several tetchy pages to it in Modern English Usage. He illustrates the problem with three sentences: 1. Women having the vote share political power with men. (This example is grammatically correct: having is a participle modifying the subject women.) 2. Women’s having the vote reduces men’s political power. (This example is grammatically correct: having is a gerund modified by the possessive women’s.) 3. Women having the vote reduces men’s political power. (This example is ungrammatical.) Fowler points out that because the verb reduces is singular, women cannot be its subject. Yet, having can’t be the subject because that would leave women â€Å"in the air† without a grammatical function. He says the construction is a compound notion that fuses the noun women with the participle having. He calls this construction a â€Å"fused participle,† denouncing it altogether as â€Å"grammatically indefensible.† Modern grammarians still prefer preceding the gerund with a possessive in formal usage, but do not uniformly condemn the fused participle as Fowler did. A writer at a site about legal prose observes that sometimes a fused participle is the only idiomatic choice: There are exceptions–sentences in which idiom simply demands that a participle be fused, or else the sentence rewritten altogether.–Lawprose.org/. Some of the exceptions cited as being accepted by â€Å"respected usage commentators† are: The likelihood of that happening is nil. He frequently felt a chance of this happening. He disapproved of politicians still in their prime writing memoirs. Blindly following the rule with these sentences would produce the following unidiomatic constructions: The likelihood of that’s happening is nil. He frequently felt a chance of this’s happening. He disapproved of politicians still in their prime’s writing memoirs. Careful writers will continue to think carefully about which word precedes a gerund in formal writing. Even in informal speech and writing, a construction like, â€Å"I hate my husband being passed over at work† is to be avoided. As the speaker does not, presumably, hate her husband, the better choice is, â€Å"I hate my husband’s being passed over at work.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Math or Maths?"Confused With" and "Confused About"Using "zeitgeist" Coherently

cat vs dog essays

cat vs dog essays There comes a time in most everyones life when he or she decides to buy a pet. Some people go for the unusual and choose a bird, snake, or rodent. Most people, however, decide on the more common four-legged creatures like a dog or cat. Dogs and cats are very different animals and they have different attitudes, needs, and habits. Understanding these differences can help in the process of choosing between them. For unwavering love and loyalty, not to mention protection, a dog is the choice. Dogs will not question authority, and they will, after some training, do exactly what they are told to do. There are many species of dogs, and they come in large, medium, and small sizes. Smaller sizes like poodles and bichons for people who just need an extra friends and bigger dogs like rottweilers and mastiffs for those who are in need of further protection. Dogs require a lot of attention, and they will make sure their owners are aware of it. They need to be watched constantly and must be taken regularly for walks, because, as most owners know, a dog cannot be trained to do his business in a litter box. A dog will, however, respond instantly to his owner's every wish and will lie at or on that owner's feet anytime, anywhere. A dog is very much like a child in that it cannot be left alone in the house for too long. It will get bored easily and can, without too much effort, make your house look as if a tornado were just there. On the other hand, for ease of care, or peace and quiet, cats can be a better choice. Cats will not question authority; they wont even listen to it. There are many species of cats, but their size will generally be the same for all breeds. They will only sleep on the bed if they want to, and will sleep at whichever end they choose. Cats are quite independent, and they do not require much attention over and above regular feeding and regular cleaning of the litter box. It is a c ...

Chronic Kidney Disease Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Chronic Kidney Disease - Research Paper Example Chronic Kidney Disease becomes evident after kidney function is extensively impaired. Identification of disease process helps people to understand its cause, modes of treatment and outcomes from treatment or failure to treat. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the disease process, major treatment strategies and their impact to the disease process, and give a Nursing Evidence-Based Practice. It will also present a case study on the disease, and present a Nursing Care Plan for the disease. Chronic Kidney Disease is a problem that occurs when a kidney function is impaired by a disease, causing damage to it. Impairment on the kidney results from some of the organs attached or related to the kidney having been affected due to other infections. Examples of the diseases commonly associated with causing kidney failure include diabetes, high blood pressure, urinary tract obstruction, and recurrent kidney infections, among others. According to Medical News Today (MNT), there are a number of factors that contribute to developing chronic kidney disease, which include; a family history of the disease, age; this disease mostly affects people over 60 years, urinary tract obstruction, kidney diseases at birth, high blood pressure, sickle cell disease and medication, among others (Nordqvist, 2013). Chronic Kidney disease affects the normal functioning of the body. According to National Kidney Foundation (NKF), the kidney is responsible for production of hormones called erythropoietin (EPO), which signals the body to make red blood cells (NKF, 2008). When one has kidney disease, the body may not be able to make EPO and this leads to reduced red blood cells which may lead to anemia. Since a combination or a group of cells of the same kind and which perform similar function makes a tissue, the effect of chronic kidney disease on cells affects formation of tissues. An arrangement of

American History Taxation Laws 1760's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American History Taxation Laws 1760's - Essay Example Nevertheless, as the law declares, the main reason for adoption is the alleged need for handling problems of the whole American continent, caused by "impending misfortunes of the British colonies on this continent" (Stamp Act). In fact the main event preceding this decision made by the Congress was the impoverishment of British economy after colonial wars with France, which turned out a strong rival. Religious issues also played their role, as the Act refers to the problems with establishing Protestantism in America. The Act clearly expresses the British attitude towards the colony: all Englishmen are recognized as free residents and taxation duties are positioned as the free will of those under British Crown, and due to the large number of target audiences, the Act emphasizes the respect for natural human rights, yet the law to great extent imposes the taxes to plantation-owners and free traders " His Majesty's liege subjects in these colonies, are entitled to all the inherent rights and liberties of his natural born subjects within the kingdom of Great-Britain" (ibid, II). Furthermore, the Act creates a kind of taxation framework and claims that high taxes will become a contribution into the wealth of Great Britain and thus the wealth of the entire English nation.

What is the main categories of Helel's argument in Part One of the Essay

What is the main categories of Helel's argument in Part One of the Philosophy of Right and how are they logically connected - Essay Example Brooks, on the other hand, identifies two great debates on the Philosophy of Right, as the work is more commonly known, namely one over its political sympathies and another on its relationship to metaphysics (2007). Thus, the first debate is thought to have arisen since the book’s first appearance, where the Philosophy of Right had been charged with â€Å"a dangerous conservatism† (Brooks, 2007) and the earliest reviews written by those Hegel had considered friends of him were nearly uniformly negative (Wood, 1991). These early attacks, however, viewed the book in relation to the immediate political situation, which may account for the reason why it was read as a blessing on the political status quo; not surprisingly, commentators and scholars in the liberal tradition followed that interpretation (Wood, 1991). The second debate, according to Brooks (2007), divided the scholarship into two camps – adherents of the â€Å"metaphysical approach to the study of Hegel’s work† and such of the â€Å"non-metaphysical approach to Hegel’s work†. Whereas the first debate, about the nature of Hegel’s political philosophy, is believed to be over, with the assertion that Hegel’s views lie in between the extremities of conservatism and liberalism, the second one has developed into an argument about â€Å"how strongly metaphysical† is Hegel’s Philosophy of Right (Brooks, 2007). This paper is intended to review Hegel’s Philosophy of Right’, namely its Part one – â€Å"Abstract Right†, in order to establish which are the main categories of Hegel’s argument and how they logically connect with each other. The paper argues that it is the philosophical method of Hegel, which holds the key to the understanding of his logic. There are two main categories of Hegel’s argument in Part One of the Philosophy of Right, as follows – the concept of ‘Abstract Right’ and the

Enhlis CASE 3 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Enhlis CASE 3 - Term Paper Example Prezi is sometimes is called the zooming presentation, and it is used to create presentations that are considered more dynamic than power point. The presentation or the story is laid out in a visual canvas and the area can be changed to see more details or less detail. Power point is more flexible for some slide purposes and you can do a variety of things with it. Discussion There are certain differences between the two software, and the biggest difference is probably the non-linear nature of Prezi against the linear structure of power point. In many occasions power point remains the staple for most presentations and forms the basis for much of the visual content delivered in online presentations and trainings ( Bunzel, 2006). Let’s try a completely non-linear presenting or for teaching approach. Like having a very detailed Prezi and takes cues from your audience at which bits they want to look at: if the learners can access then you don’t have to use traditional presen tation in the beginning. Power point has linear navigation, uses slide stack layout, computer based, and has multiple printing options. Power point is more popular than Prezi which is non-linear, uses map layout, web based, and has limited printing options. Try and present your learners with Prezi to look around, you can also try and add your content. Learners will work through and take notes or use the content that they find most useful. Power point is good at creating lecture framework, visualizing content, organizing student note-taking, and explaining complex concepts and processes through charts, graphs and animations. The look of your presentation of power point software can be affected by difference in font sizes in different computers (Norwood, 2009). Prezi is a presentation that allows you to display your ideas in form of images, text, videos. Etc., by planning to them or zooming in on them. With the ability to zoom the images, Prezi also provide some tools to edit those ob jects including tools to rotate, resize, recolor, and crop them. With the high and faster technological growth in the world, the use of power point is become more unreliable compared to Prezi. In fact, (Norwood, 2009), says that, ‘power point presentation are so ubiquitous these days that the mere name of this software has become synonymous with ‘boring’ and ‘mundane’.’ Prezi being an online based becomes a more evolutional and convenient software. The use of Prezi for system upgrade is more effective and brings more impacts to the new jobs. The use of Prezi provides a wide range of presentation and is more productive nowadays than power point. Unlike power point prezi is not being affected by the difference in fonts of different computer systems. Therefore it’s more productive and easy to access. Power point is always installed in the system. That makes it difficult to share the work done with power point to other people. Being online b ased software, Prezi is an alternative for student’s lecturers, and researchers. The ease of sharing the worksheet and personal presentation via internet since it’s an online software. The use of Prezi can be highly recommended for upgrading since it is a best chance of improving income. The use of Prezi is convenient in advertising, mailing and any business related work. To improve corporate finance it’s advisable to use Prezi. Conclusion It is clearer that most people use power point than Prezi.

WESTERN CIVILIZATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (foundations of the study Term Paper

WESTERN CIVILIZATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (foundations of the study of human development) - Term Paper Example that have provided a logical manner of inquiry, the humanities which are an avenue of expression of the mind and aesthetic judgement, philosophy as a guiding standard with reason. At the same time, all of them will be assessed in relation as to how nature and nurture relates to the following and alters the conditioning of mind and the human activity. All of these points are the ones that shall be engaged and discussed. At the same time, these will be applied in relation to my experiences. On the other hand, as I explore the intricacies of the matters at hand in these paper, I will be providing commendable counter – arguments that can devalue the assertions made. In this case, I shall make a conflicting condition between nature and nurture to set the issue straight. I shall also provide a synthesis between the clashes that will emerge in this paper. This is important to fully emphasize the historical development and theoretical application of the developed and created notions about human nature in general and a specific sense. There will also be importance in construction assumptions in a logical manner. In this scenario, scientific and biological inquiry plays an important role to see how one acts accordingly to inherent prescriptions. In the development of knowledge in the Western World, scientific queries have been made about evolution of humans and ended proposing that evolution is a natural process (Menand 2002). This has been considered to be true and normalized in the consciousness of the people in the current time. Analytically, one develops accordingly to his or her own innate capacities that allow evolution to take place. Darwin has emphasized that evolution is something that happened to humans all throughout the course of time and of history, which inevitably true in a biological sense (Menand 2002). How is this manifested? The body itself is the one that undergoes development in all aspects possible. In my case, there is a development process that