cubezero2
Member
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2013
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Chinese
- Home Country
- China
- Current Location
- China
Hi, everyone.
This question arose when I was answering another question raised on a local forum. The guy posted a snapshot of a grammar book, presumably written by a Chinese person. The book claims:
The guy wanted to know the reason behind it. Well, assuming the book is correct on this one, I thought it was easy. According to my Longman dictionary, catch means:
Catch, in this sense(3) and a similar sense(2), takes a person, not an action. Then I thought to myself, 'What will happen if we use a verb that could take a person or an action?' Is there a material, though subtle, difference between don't mind him closing the door and don't mind his closing door? If so, what might be the difference?
Here is my take. In most cases, the two effectively mean the same thing. But there are situations where one is a better option than the other.
Don't mind him closing the door is of the structure noun/pronoun + v-ing/v-ed. Here, the focus is on the person. For example, I work in the same office with John Smith ad John Doe. Ms. Doe always closes the door forcefully, which annoys me a lot. On the other hand, Mr. Smith does everything gently and oftentimes I don't even notice him leaving the office. When telling a friend what it's like to work in my office, it's more appropriate to say, 'I don't mind him closing the door.'
Don't mind his closing the door is similar to the structure adj + noun. Here, the focus is on the action. If I want to express, say, the idea that I wouldn't trust him to do other things as he's so incompetent, I should opt for I don't mind his closing the door.
I'd like to hear your opinions.
Richard
This question arose when I was answering another question raised on a local forum. The guy posted a snapshot of a grammar book, presumably written by a Chinese person. The book claims:
It is correct to say They caught him cheating on the exam. And it's incorrect to say They caught his cheating on the exam.
The guy wanted to know the reason behind it. Well, assuming the book is correct on this one, I thought it was easy. According to my Longman dictionary, catch means:
2. find/stop sb [T]
3. see sb doing sth
Catch, in this sense(3) and a similar sense(2), takes a person, not an action. Then I thought to myself, 'What will happen if we use a verb that could take a person or an action?' Is there a material, though subtle, difference between don't mind him closing the door and don't mind his closing door? If so, what might be the difference?
Here is my take. In most cases, the two effectively mean the same thing. But there are situations where one is a better option than the other.
Don't mind him closing the door is of the structure noun/pronoun + v-ing/v-ed. Here, the focus is on the person. For example, I work in the same office with John Smith ad John Doe. Ms. Doe always closes the door forcefully, which annoys me a lot. On the other hand, Mr. Smith does everything gently and oftentimes I don't even notice him leaving the office. When telling a friend what it's like to work in my office, it's more appropriate to say, 'I don't mind him closing the door.'
Don't mind his closing the door is similar to the structure adj + noun. Here, the focus is on the action. If I want to express, say, the idea that I wouldn't trust him to do other things as he's so incompetent, I should opt for I don't mind his closing the door.
I'd like to hear your opinions.
Richard