I was wondering which of the following phrases are correct?
"without their having to learn" or "without them having to learn"?
Any help is highly appreciated.
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2Duplicate of english.stackexchange.com/questions/2625/…– Alan CarmackCommented May 25, 2016 at 16:30
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@AlanCarmack, I actually went through that thread, but was not able to figure out an answer to my question. I'll appreciate it if you explain it a little bit.– user2521204Commented May 25, 2016 at 16:39
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What specifically were you not able to figure out? In almost all contexts it makes absolutely no difference whether you use possessive+gerund or noun subject+verb, but at least one answer points out that When the possessive alternative is used, it focuses attention on the action described in the ‘-ing’ clause. In contrast the regular Noun Phrase form puts more emphasis on the person doing the action. Which might occasionally be accurate.– FumbleFingersCommented May 25, 2016 at 17:19
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@FumbleFingers, do you mean "without them having to learn" is wrong?– user2521204Commented May 25, 2016 at 18:19
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What makes you think I have any opinion about "right/wrong" here? I just said in almost all contexts it makes absolutely no difference. In fact, the possessive form is still far more common, but arguably you might sound more "modern" if you opt for the straight noun subject version.– FumbleFingersCommented May 25, 2016 at 18:26
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1 Answer
Where a gerund-participle clause is complement to a preposition, both genitive and non-genitive subjects are possible:
I have no objections to [their/them taking notes].
She insisted on [my/me being present at the interview].
So, both your examples are fine. It's essentially a free choice between genitive "their" and non-genitive "them", though the genitive is fairly formal compared to the non-genitive.
Note that if a non-genitive subject is a personal pronoun, it always takes the accusative case ("me/him/her/us/them").
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Would you please explain your last paragraph a little more. Thanks. Commented May 26, 2016 at 10:58
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Sure: if the subject is a personal pronoun, it can be the genitive "my/your/his/her/our/your/their", or the accusative "me/him/her/us/them", but not the nominative "I/he/she/we/they".– BillJCommented May 26, 2016 at 16:34