The - identified: Referring to Already Mentioned Nouns

On this page:
Agent in Gerund Cls
Agent or "for" Gerund Cls
Verb + Prep + Gerund Cls
Grammar Notes
Practice 1
Practice 2
Practice 3

Gerund Clauses with Subjects

Expressing attitudes about the activities of others

Expressing the "agent" in a subordinated clause

FULL CLAUSE
After a specific group of verbs, a speaker can state opinion about an activity with a that-clause or if-clause (a "full clause' or finite clause). This wording places equal emphasis on "agent" and "activity" of the subordinate clause.
SUBJ + VERB	FULL CLAUSE
Jill recalls	that he asked to stay just one week.
Jill anticipates	that he will want to stay another month.
Jill discussed	that he should move out of her apartment.
Jill imagines	that he might stay forever.
Jill resents	that he has overstayed his welcome.

REDUCED CLAUSE – GERUND
A similar meaning is expressed with a reduced clause— a gerund clause. The agent of the clause is expressed as his, their, her, etc. (possessive obj. pronoun) or informally, as him, her, them, us, etc.(obj. pronoun)
SUBJ + VERB	OBJ PRN + GERUND CLAUSE
Jill recalls	his / him asking to stay just one week.
Jill anticipates	his / him wanting to stay another month.
Jill discussed	his moving out of her apartment.
Jill imagines	his / him wanting to stay forever.
Jill resents	his / him (for) overstaying his welcome.

agent – the subject of a clause, the person doing the activity or causing something to happen
genitive – possessive word form
overstay a welcome – be a guest for an excessive period

Verbs complemented by a gerund clause with an agent (subject)

anticipate	appreciate	can't help	celebrate
delay	describe	detest	discuss
dislike	enjoy	fancy	foresee
imagine	mention	don't mind	miss
put off	recall	regret	relish
resent	risk	tolerate	welcome

(CaGEL 14 §5.3 [31])

Gerund Clause w/ Subject

Possessive or "for" clause

Expressing the "agent" as a possessive vs. prepositional clause

POSSESSIVE GERUND CLAUSE
This group of verbs may be complemented by a possessive gerund clause. That is the agent of the clause takes the form of a possessive pronoun.
SUBJ + VERB	OBJ / POSS PRONOUN + GERUND
Jill excused	his staying so long.
Jack forgave	my not giving him a loan.
Jill prevented	our returning again.
Jack stopped	her locking him out. (prevented)

OBJECT + GERUND CLAUSE
This group of verbs also takes an object complement followed by a prepositional gerund clause. The preposition for or from are optionally included. The preposition subordinates the clause to the main clause.
SUBJ + VERB	OBJ + PREP + GERUND CLAUSE
Jill excused him	(for) staying so long.
Jack forgave me	(for) not giving him a loan.
Jill prevented us	(from) returning again.
Jack stopped her	(from) locking him out.

(CaGEL 14 §5.4 [46])

excuse	forgive	pardon	prevent
prohibit	stop

Gerund Clauses w/ Subject

Verb + Preposition Combinations

Expressing the "agent" in a prepositional clause

NOUN PHRASE
A specific group of verbs takes an object and preposition combination as a complement. The agent of the action in the prep. phrase (e.g., long stay) is understood from context.
SUBJ + VERB +	PREP + NOUN PHRASE
Jack apologized to her	for the long stay.
Jack blamed her	for his failure to find a job.
Jack complained to her	about his lack of money.
Jack congratulated her	on her victory.
Jack thanked her	for her hospitality.

GERUND CLAUSE
The preposition may also be followed by a gerund clause. The 'agent" (subject) of the gerund clause is included in the form of a possessive pronoun. (The preposition subordinates the nonfinite clause.)
SUBJ + VERB +	PREP + PRN + GERUND CLS
Jack apologized to her	for his (her) having to stay so long.
Jack blamed her	for his (her) failure to find a job.
Jack complained to her	about his (her) not having money.
Jack congratulated her	on (her) winning the argument.
Jack thanked her	for (her) letting him stay a while longer.

Note that traditionally, a preposition takes an object as a complement; however, in current linguistic description, a preposition can take a wide variety of complements. See Prep Complements

direct object pronoun– me, you him, her, them us; prepositional phrase (PP) – to me, to you, to him, to her, to them, to us.
Also see Indirect Objects

Verb + preposition combination list

adjust to – We adjusted to their living farther away.	agree on / to – We agreed on her moving into her own office.	apologize for – He apologized for his having forgotten the meeting.	approve of – We approved of his wanting to go to college.
believe in – We believe in his wanting to change his life for the better.	blame for – They blamed her for his leaving home.	care about – They don't care about our living together.	congratulate – We congratulated them on their winning the award
decide against – We decided against his joining us full time.	get used to – They are getting used to his working on the weekends.	insist on – They are insisting on our staying at least a week.	look forward to – They are looking forward to our visiting them.
put off – They will put off her coming for a visit.	rely on – We rely on their assisting us.	succeed in – They will succeed in their making a new world record.	warn against – We warned against his joining that group.

See Verb + Prep List

Grammar Notes

Traditional and Linguistic Description

Advanced

TRADITIONAL DESCRIPTION	LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION
In traditional grammar, you is the object of the verb thank. The gerund (verbal noun) is the object of the preposition for.	In example (A) the pronoun you is the object of the verb thank. The preposition for, a grammaticized preposition, is closely associated with the verb. The verb requires this particular preposition. The gerund clause complements the preposition. (A preposition can be complemented by a wide variety of structures not limited to a noun.) (CaGEL 1189-93)
A. PRONOUN + PREPOSITION Click the diagram to enlarge it.	A. PRONOUN + PREPOSITION
In traditional grammar, the gerund (a verbal noun) functions as the object of the clause. The possessive is a determiner for the verbal noun. Using the object pronoun was informal usage.	In example (B) the pronoun you or the possessive determiner your is the subject of the nonfinite gerund-participle clause.
B. POSSESSIVE PRONOUN	B. PRONOUN / POSSESSIVE PRONOUN

Clause; Subject / Predicate; Finite / Nonfinite; NP –noun phrase; N – noun; VP – verb phrase; V – verb; Comp – complement; Det – determiner; PP – prepositional phrase; P – preposition; Sub – Subordinator
Also see structure of Buy v. Thank "He bought a gift for me." "He thanked me for the gift."

Practice 1

Commenting on the activities of others

Add pronouns and/or prepositions to complete the sentence.

Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "Check 1-10" button at the bottom, or click the "Check" button to the left as you go.

George fixed my front door. I appreciate his work.
I thanked fixing my door.

Feedback 1

I'd like to smoke a cigarette here.
Do you mind smoking here?

Feedback 2

The movie academy gave the award to a young, new actress.
The other actresses resented giving the award to someone new.

Feedback 3

Jack and Jill were having marriage problems.
She blamed flirting with other women.

Feedback 4

Jay was upset with his guitar.
Later, he apologized having a temper tantrum.

temper tantrum (n. ) – fit, display of anger

Feedback 5

The toddler wanted a gum ball.
The boy's mother stopped taking a gum ball.

Feedback 6

I wanted to leave the doctor's office.
The nurse prevented leaving the office without getting a flu shot. nurse

Feedback 7

Joe waited until the last day to write his report.
Joe blames waiting until the last minute. working late

Feedback 8

My neighbor likes peace.
My neighbor complained to me making a lot of noise. grandfather

Feedback 9

10.

I missed the target!
Pardon missing the target.

Feedback 10

Practice 3

Thank You Letter

Complete the sentence within the paragraph.

Edit the sentence(s) in the text box.
Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "Check" button to the left as you go.

21.

Dear Carla and Bob,
Thank donating to Glow Foundation. Your generous gift will benefit our students from under-resourced communities to succeed in college and beyond. We appreciate giving Glow Scholars an opportunity to achieve their educational goals. Next month, we have another fundraising event in which we will honor this year's graduates. We will be congratulating completing their final year with the Glow Program. We look forward to working with us in the future. We hope that we can count on continuing support of the Glow Foundation.
Sincerely, Jane Reed
Executive Director

26-30.

Dear Management
Pardon bringing this matter to your attention instead of bringing it to the attention of my manager. However, it is my manager about whom I am writing. Last month, I noticed that the data for our company sales report had been changed and were inaccurate. When I told my manager, he prevented doing anything to correct the data. In fact, he accused "putting my nose in someone else's business". I am writing to you because the success of this company is OUR business. I resent dismissive behavior. When I spoke to the other employees in my department, they became concerned. We don't want you to blame the inaccurate data in the sales reports. My coworkers and I would appreciate giving some attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Joe Reed
Accounting Department

Dear Management
Pardon bringing this matter to your attention instead of bringing it to the attention of my manager. However, it is my manager about whom I am writing. Last month, I noticed that the data for our company sales report had been changed and were inaccurate. When I told my manager, he prevented doing anything to correct the data. In fact, he accused "putting my nose in someone else's business". I am writing to you because the success of this company is OUR business. I resent dismissive behavior. When I spoke to the other employees in my department, they became concerned. We don't want you to blame the inaccurate data in the sales reports. My co-worker and I would appreciate giving some attention to this matter. Sincerely,
Joe Reed
Accounting Department

Grammar-Quizzes.com

PRACTICE ON POINTS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR