English rules on "him going/his going"

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by odieboy, Aug 1, 2010.

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  1. odieboy

    odieboy Level II

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    College entrance tests are coming up so I decided to clear up some English rules.

    Which is correct?

    Him going to the party was frowned upon.
    His going to the party was frowned upon.

    How about this one?

    I frowned upon his going to the party.
    I frowned upon him going to the party.

    Mind explaining why you got those answers?
     
  2. Aemira

    Aemira Level III

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    "His going to the part was frowned upon." and "I frowned upon his going to the party." seem like the correct ones to me.

    I can't really explain why, but maybe this english grammar forum can help you at this topic: http://www.englishforums.com/English/Hi ... r/post.htm

    I think I agree with the second poster there who said something along the lines of, well, in this context "his going", "going" is used as a noun, hence requires a possessive adjective, not a pronoun.
     
  3. SoC

    SoC Moderator
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    I think this depends on context, and how the story/setnence is being wrote. "him going" is more a general narrative overview kind of approach, "his going" sounds more personal and involved.

    Same for second, I'd use him for both. his never ever ever ever sounds right for me, so much so I refuse to believe the word is actually real :)
     
  4. tarzan993

    tarzan993 Level I

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    I use him. I think you should all start using him. Soon then, "his" will disappear and the language english will get so much simpler!
     
  5. lazypando

    lazypando Level IV

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    his, in both cases

    you are not frowning upon him, you are frowning upon his going
    it is possessive so the genitive is used

    just as you would not say "I going to the party" but rather "my going to the party"

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerund
    scroll down to the section called Gerunds preceded by a genitive
     
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  6. odieboy

    odieboy Level II

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    Thanks for the clearups. I'll go with his. National college tests are this weekend here and I wanna top the exam, or at least get into the top 20 to get a full scholarship. :D
     
  7. sillyjilly

    sillyjilly Level I

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    Which exams are these? Just curious.
    But wow top 20.. good luck :)
     
  8. odieboy

    odieboy Level II

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    Well basically there are 4 worthwhile colleges in the country, (don't wanna say because Neo might hunt me down) and of those 4, 2 superior ones.

    One of the superior ones is the exam I'll be taking, and the top 10 usually get full scholarships for their undergraduate programs. :D
     
  9. sillyjilly

    sillyjilly Level I

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    oooh nice, good luck on those exams! how many people take these exams?
     
  10. itunes

    itunes Level II

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    His should be used instead of him.
     
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