being sent, having been sent

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Could you please confirm the grammatical correctness of the following two pairs exemplary sentences?

1. Your working at the plant helps you to master technical subjects.
2. Your having worked at the plant helps you to master technical subjects.

3. I heard of our head engineer's being sent abroad.
4. I heard of our head engineer's having been sent abroad.

Could you explain to me the distinction of the particular gerundive constructions in the quoted pairs?

Regards.

V.

[Tdol]

'Your having worked' makes it clear that the person no longer works there. 'Your working' could mean either that the person works there now or that they have. If it's not particularly important to show that something is finshed, then the ordinary gerund is enough.

[vil]

Hi Tdol,

Thank you for your explanatory reply.

I agree absolutely with your reasoning.

My "having worked" or "having been sent" denote an action prior to that of the definite verb, while my "working" or "being sent" denote an action simultaneous with the action expressed by the finite verb; depending on the tense form of the finite verb it may refer to the present, past or future.

Thank you again for your attention.

Regards.

V.