c

  

    

Because of its noun properties, the genitive (possessive case) is preferred for a noun or pronoun
preceding a gerund.

d ’
 

[genitive]   

This usage is preferred in formal writing or speaking. The objective case is often used in place of the
possessive, especially in casual situations:

d x




 

 



Really, 'I do not see its making any difference' is the correct option.

This may sound awkward in general use, but is still the correct manner in which to converse or write. And
this form of gerund is applicable in all relative cases, for instance:

d Ô
  

 


d Ô
  


 


d Ô
  
 
 
 


d Ô
  


 


d Ô
  


 


This is because the action, of doing or being, belongs, in effect, to the subject/object (direct or indirect)
practising it, thus, the possessive is required to clearly demonstrate that.

In some cases, either the possessive or the objective case may be logical:

d î
 

 

 

  (  is a gerund, and  
 is a possessive
noun. The shouting is the subject of the sentence.)
d î
 

 

 

  (  is a participle describing the teacher. This
sentence means î
 



 

 

  In this sentence, the subject is
the teacher herself.)

Either of these sentences could mean that the student was startled because the teacher was shouting.

Using the objective case can be awkward if the gerund is singular but the other noun is plural. It can look
like a problem with subject-verb agreement:

d î
   
  



 

One might decide to make  plural so that    can be a participle.

d î
   
  



 
[edit]c

 
   
In so far as there is a distinction between gerunds and present participles, it is generally fairly clear which
is which; a gerund or participle that is the subject or object of a preposition is a gerund if it refers to
the 

 of an action (but present participles may be used substantively to refer to
the 


of an action), while one that modifies a noun attributively or absolutely is a participle. The
main source of potential ambiguity is when a gerund-participle follows a verb; in this case, it may be seen
either as a predicate adjective (in which case it is a participle), or as a direct object or predicate
nominative (in either of which cases it is a gerund). In this case, a few transformations can help
distinguish them. In the table that follows, ungrammatical sentences are marked with asterisks, per
common linguistic practice; it should be noted that the transformations all produce grammatical sentences
with similar meanings when applied to sentences with gerunds but either ungrammatical sentences, or
sentences with completely different meanings, when applied to sentences with participles.

î
 

   
 

 
 ÿ
 
  ÿ

 




 
   


 
  ÿ
  ÿ




 ÿ
 

   ÿ


  


 
 
 ÿ
 

 
  ÿ


 
 

 
     ÿ
  

  ÿ


 


 

ÿ
   

ÿ


 

 ÿ
   ÿ


rone of these transformations is a perfect test, however.

p