I would like to know what is the structure use in the following sentence:
"Would you mind his joining us?"
I have seen many sentences using the same strcuture and I still can not figure out what kind of structure this is, or how it works.
I thought that the best structure to express meaning in the sentence above was as follows:
"Would you mind if he joines us?"
Thanks in advance for your guidance.
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Leo,
You have asked a wonderful question. Maybe the "correct"
answer depends on which book or teacher you have.
I should be happy to give you my
opinion.
I think that the following are "good" English:
(1) Would you mind
him joining us?
(2) Would you mind
his joining us?
(3) Would you mind if he joins us?
*****
Let's discuss each one.
(1) Would you mind
him joining us. =
The emphasis is on "him." Maybe you do not like "him."
So you say, "Yes, I do mind. I do not like him. I do not want
him to join us."
(2) Would you mind
his joining us? =
The emphasis is on "joining." Maybe you like "him" very
much, but --for some reason -- you do not think it is a
good idea for him to join you and the others this time.
NOTE: For some (many?) native speakers, sentences
No. 1 and No. 2 are the same. So there is no way to know
whether the idea in the speaker's mind is No. 1 or No. 2.
For example, let's say that you do not like Tom. Then you
would say to your daughter:
I do not like
him marrying you. (Emphasis on "him.")
Now let's say that you like Tom and want him to marry your
daughter. Let's say, however, that you do not want Tom and
your daughter to get married so soon. You might say:
I do not like
his marrying you so soon. (In other words, the
emphasis is on the "marrying.")
(3) Would you mind if he joins us?
The "problem" with No. 3 is that it could mean No. 1 or No. 2.
So if you mean No.l, you would have to pronounce "he" very
strongly:
Do you mind if
HE joins us? (Emphasis on "he.")
You might answer: Yes, I really do mind if
HE joins us. I dislike
him!!!
If you mean the idea of sentence No. 2, then you would pronounce the
words normally with a little extra pronunciation on two words:
Would you MIND if he JOINS us? (Emphasis on "joins")
Remember: maybe you like him, but -- for some reason -- you might
answer: Oh, I think that it might better if he doesn't join us this time.
THANK YOU & HAVE A NICE DAY
P.S. Remember that many (most?) native speakers might consider
all three about the same. Some books, however, feel that "careful"
speakers will use either sentence No. l or No. 2 depending on what
idea you wish to express. And, of course, sentence No. 3 is fine
except that some people feel it is ambiguous (not clear what you wish
to say exactly).
P.P.S. I do not know how much English grammar you have already
studied, but some books say:
In "
him joining," joining is a participle.
In
"his joining," joining is a gerund.