it is not like him to have done sth

[joham]

It’s not like him _____ so rude to his mother. (to be, being, to have been, having been)
The above is a question Chinese teachers of English like to set, and the given answer is 'to have been'. I would think 'to be' is the best choice. But can the others be used?

By the way, is the following sentence grammatically correct?

It’s not like him being there or not would make a difference. When Ryo got down
to the classroom, all of his classmates were in their own little selected ...
community.livejournal.com


Thank you very much.

 

[2006]

It’s not like him _____ so rude to his mother. (to be, being, to have been, having been)
The above is a question Chinese teachers of English like to set, and the given answer is 'to have been'. I would think 'to be' is the best choice. I agree. But can the others be used? The only other acceptable one to me is "to have been".

By the way, is the following sentence grammatically correct?

It’s not like him being there or not would make a difference. The grammatically correct way is to say 'It's not like his being there......', although I think most native speakers would say "him". It's another example of native speakers breaking grammar rules.

When Ryo got down to the classroom, all of his classmates were in their own little selected ...
community.livejournal.
com


Thank you very much.

2006

 

[joham]

2006

Hi, 2006,
I meant to say 'It's not like him being there or not would make a difference' was incorrect in that 'not...or not' was odd and before 'would make' a subject was needed. Am I right? And I'm not very clear about the meaning of the sentence.

Thank you very much.

 

[2006]

Hi, 2006,
I meant to say 'It's not like him being there or not would make a difference' was incorrect in that 'not...or not' was odd and before 'would make' a subject was needed. Am I right? And I'm not very clear about the meaning of the sentence.

Thank you very much.

'It's not like his being there or not would make a difference.' is correct English, and the 'It' part of "It's" is the subject.

The sentence can be reworded in several ways. (with the subjects underlined) Note the position of the "not"s.
The fact is not that his being there or not would make a difference.

The fact is that his being there or not would not make a difference.
His being there or not (being there) would not make a difference.
Whether he is there or not (there) would not make a difference.

 

[BobK]

...The only other acceptable one to me is "to have been"...

I agree with much of what 2005 says, though a case could be made for "being", if it were preceded by a significant gap: "It's not like him.... [I mean, his] being so rude [is uncharacteristic]". Of course, that's not a sentence any more; it's two. And the grammar of the second one (the gerund) doesn't belong in the first sentence. But informally this sort of 'derailment' of grammar happens quite often - by which I don't mean that it should be copied especially not in exams.

b