[Essay] Preposition + Noun Phrase (Ving or N + Ving)

[englishteacher79]

I know that what follows a preposition is a Noun or a Ving.
"There are advantages to overseas education" or
"There are advantages to studying overseas."

However, in many instances, you can also put the N (subject) + Ving after the preposition - e.g. "There are advantages to children being bilingual."

What is the rule for this - I want to read more into this. Where would this be under in grammar books. Also, can one always put that subject before the Ving or there are limitations to this.

Thanks.

 

[khanhhung2512]

NOT A TEACHER
In my opinion, you could, alternatively, say, "There are advantages to children's being bilingual," with 's being the possessive form. I read about it in "Understanding and Using English Grammar."
On the other hand, your sentence could be interpreted as, "There are advantages to children who are bilingual."
I wonder which one is more correct.

 

[MikeNewYork]

There is no separate rule for this. In your sentence "children" is a noun which logically follows a preposition. "Being bilingual" is a participial phrase modifying "children". In khanh's sentence, children's is a possessive adjective that modifies the gerund phrase "being bilingual". Gerunds are also nouns. So, in both cases, you have preposition + noun. In your second example, "studying" is a gerund-noun and "overseas" is an adverb modifying the gerund.