confused word

[Unregistered]

"That would be my killing her".


Since the word "kill" can used as noun ,can I change"killing" for" kill"? If can't, why? Pls.

[Casiopea]

my is an adjective, and adjectives modify nouns, not verbs. So,

Ex: That would be my killing her. <noun: gerund>
Ex: That would be my kill her. <non-gerundival noun>

Since the word "kill" can used as noun, can I change "killing" for "kill"? If can't, why?

Gerunds--because they have verbal qualities--can take an object as well as adverbs:

Ex: That would be my killing her slowly.
<gerund + object>

The gerund killing takes the pronoun her as its object, and the adverb slowly modifies the gerund killing.

Non-gerundival nouns, like kill, can also take objects, but they are prepositional in form:

Ex: It's the kill of the day.
<non-gerundival noun + object>

Does that help?

[puzzle]

Yes, it is very helpful. I am sure the unregistertd feel the same way.

Thank U!!

[Casiopea]

You're most welcome, puzzle. ;-D