gerund or participle??

a. I appreciate your taking the time to talk with me.
b. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me.

Could you tell me which is gerund and which is participle??

[Tdol]

They're both gerunds- the difference between 'your' and 'you'is simply a question of formal\informal style in BE.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by wendy

a. I appreciate your taking the time to talk with me.
b. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me.

Could you tell me which is gerund and which is participle??

I disagree with TDOL. The verbal in "your taking" is a gerund; it is modified by a possessive, making it a noun. The verb in "you taking" is a participle, modifying "you".

There are some differences of opinion between American and British English. :wink:

[Tdol]

In BE they're the same; it's just a question of the person saying it. The possessive users are the minority, a tiny minority, I'd say. ;-0

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by tdol

In BE they're the same; it's just a question of the person saying it. The possessive users are the minority, a tiny minority, I'd say. ;-0

Well, yes and no. It is difficult to parse the non-possessive form as a gerund, no matter who speaks it. I agree that the meaning is the same (in most cases), but IMO, the part of speech changes. :wink:

[Tdol]

In BE, the pronoun has no real case for many speakers; it's more of a marker than anything. You'll hear (get ready coz this is going to hurt) 'Me going there was a bad idea' used by many.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by tdol

In BE, the pronoun has no real case for many speakers; it's more of a marker than anything. You'll hear (get ready coz this is going to hurt) 'Me going there was a bad idea' used by many.

Yes, but "what people say" is separate from grammar analysis.

:wink: