Gerund Jumble

Once many, many moons ago, a professor of English corrected and returned to me a paper I had submitted for class. I understood all of the bright red swaths of marks he so elegantly etched in the margins--except one. I had written that "I appreciate you writing letters of recommendation for me." Of course, he added an innocent r to my you, so that it read, "I appreciate your writing letters of recommendation for me." I had no idea about the rule for that, and I didn't bother to look it up then. Instead, I stashed it away deep inside my memory, never to be thought of again--until last fall. The conundrum popped up again in an editing class I was taking. So, after more than twenty years, I finally got to the bottom of the problem (thanks to the help of another kind professor). It all begins with the gerund.

The Definition

Most of us know that a gerund is a verb form that ends in ing but is used as a noun. Take, for instance, the sentence "Swimming is fun." Most of the time, swim is a verb. However, in this sentence it is used as a noun (and also as the subject of the sentence). That's easy enough to remember.

Another Piece of the Puzzle

My sentence was incorrect not because of the gerund itself but because I failed to use the possessive form of the pronoun that came before it. Simply put, when a noun or a pronoun immediately precedes a gerund, it must be in the possessive case. Now, if I had taken the time to ask my professor about my error when it happened, I would not have spent twenty years writing hundreds of incorrect sentences! Hopefully this will prevent your making the same mistake.

Let's Look at Some Examples

1. The doctor's arriving late was a surprise to everyone. (Arriving is a gerund, so the possessive doctor's precedes it).

2. His losing the contest came as a big surprise. (Losing is a gerund; therefore, the possessive his is correct).

3. It happened without my knowing about it (not "without me knowing about it").

4. No one insisted on your coming with us (not "on you coming with us").

5. Bill's trying for the job was unexpected (not "Bill trying for the job").

Get It?

All the big hitters talk about this rule. You can look it up and practice it in the Gregg Reference Manual (paragraph 647 of the 8th ed.) and the Chicago Manual of Style (paragraph 7.28 of the 15th ed.). However, I think you'll find the most logical and sensible discussion of the topic in Woe is I (p. 45). The best coverage I have found overall comes from the online resource Get It Write. Here you'll find an effective overview and loads of examples and practice sentences. Good luck!