Hi everyone
I saw these two sentence in a syntax book by Berk
1) I don't want HIM doing that (genitive -ing clause subj.)
2) I don't want HIS doing that (objective -ing cluase subj.)
The author Berk said 1 is correct while 2 is not. I wonder why. As I was told in school that if you use genitive noun (e.g his is 2 above) as a -ing cluase subject, your focus is on the whole proposition of the ing-clause.
On the other hand, if you use objective case (e.g him in 1 above), your focus will be on the person (i.e. the subject in the -ing clause). I found the same thing in a grammar book of Biber (1999, longman) as well
Can anyone helps solve the question? Are 1 and 2 both correct grammatically? If not, why is 2 wrong?
Thanks in advance
Subject of nominal -ing clause?
2013-01-09 12:33 am
回答 (2)
2013-01-09 12:52 am
✔ 最佳答案
The first one is correct. The focus is on HIM.In the sentence "They didn't like his talking so loudly during dinner" the focus is on the loud talking.
.
2013-01-09 9:27 am
In the first instance, I know what the scope of alternatives are. I don't want him doing that. He can do something else, and someone else can do that.
I also know how to parse the first sentence. "Him" is the direct object, and "doing that" is a present participle phrase which modifies that object.
In the second instance, I'm simply confused. "His" is the wrong form to be an object. "Doing that" could be an object if it's a gerund, but it still doesn't feel right. On the other hand, "Tuesday" is a noun and it can act like an object, but "I don't want Tuesday" is nearly as confusing.
Ok, so I get what you mean by focus. If I say "I think him doing that will be a problem" then the focus of the problem is "him". I think him doing that is a problem, so we should find someone else do it. On the other hand, if I say "I think his doing that will be a problem" then the focus is on the "doing that". I think his doing that will be a problem, so we should change what he is doing.
But, is it possible that "doing that" is as weird a thing to want as "Tuesday"? The statement might be grammatically fine, but semantically nonsense.
I also know how to parse the first sentence. "Him" is the direct object, and "doing that" is a present participle phrase which modifies that object.
In the second instance, I'm simply confused. "His" is the wrong form to be an object. "Doing that" could be an object if it's a gerund, but it still doesn't feel right. On the other hand, "Tuesday" is a noun and it can act like an object, but "I don't want Tuesday" is nearly as confusing.
Ok, so I get what you mean by focus. If I say "I think him doing that will be a problem" then the focus of the problem is "him". I think him doing that is a problem, so we should find someone else do it. On the other hand, if I say "I think his doing that will be a problem" then the focus is on the "doing that". I think his doing that will be a problem, so we should change what he is doing.
But, is it possible that "doing that" is as weird a thing to want as "Tuesday"? The statement might be grammatically fine, but semantically nonsense.
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