Gerunds: Gerunds: Form and Use (#2)

Subjects of Gerunds

Normally, the subject of the sentence and the subject of a gerund
in it are the same:

I like singing. (The subjects of like and singing
are the same.)

We dislike doing that. (The subjects of dislike and doing
are the same.)

He remembers talking to us. (The subjects of
remember and talking are the same.)

She worries about not passing the test. (The subjects of
worry and not passing are the same.)

They apologized for not attending the meeting (The subjects
of apologize and not attending are the same.)

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Sometimes, however, the subject of the gerund and the subject
of the sentence are different. When this happens, the subject
of the gerund is shown by using a possessive form:

I like his singing. (The subject of like is I, but the subject of
singing is he--which is changed to a possessive form.)

We dislike your doing that. (The subject of dislike is we,
but the subject of doing is you--which is changed to
a possessive form.

He remembers her talking to us. (The subject of remember
is he, but the subject of talking is she--which is changed to
a possessive form.

She worries about her son's not passing the test. (The subject
of worry is she, but the subject of not passing is her son--
which is changed to a possessive form.)

They apologized for Fred's not attending the meeting (The subject
of apologize is they, but the subject of not attending is Fred--
which is changed to a possessive form.)