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By Brooks A. Mick, M.D.
July 23, 2006 Peggy Noonan has recently written that “media” is now a singular noun rather than plural, and one can say “the media IS biased.” I don’t agree. I think it is a common mistake. Peggy says that “usage changes” as if this justifies improper use. Again, I disagree. Just because something is commonly used incorrectly doesn’t make it correct. The gerund is one of those parts of speech we use frequently but don't think much about. And that's the problem. We don’t THINK about it. I am not a nitpicker when it comes to grammar--well, not much of one anyway. But there is one frequent misuse which bugs me a lot. I have seldom read any piece recently, including books and short stories by quite famous authors, that does not contain a pronoun misuse relating to a gerund. I suspect that the reason is that a gerund, though sounding like part of a verb, is really a noun. A gerund is a noun made from a verb. For example, the word "walk" is a verb, an action word. But a gerund is made by taking a verb and adding "ing." Thus, we have "walking," which is, when used as a noun (name for something) becomes a noun. If used as part of a verb, as "he was walking," it remains a verb. Thus, if "walking" is used to name the act of walking, and is thus a noun, the pronoun applied to it must be possessive. We say "my shoes," "my book," and if discussing walking, we say "my walking." My "walking" is the exercise that keeps me healthy. That is one way to use it. Or "She thinks my walking is a healthy exercise." NOT NOT NOT "She thinks me walking is a healthy exercise." She doesn’t think “me is a healthy exercise.” She thinks “walking is a healthy exercise.” I was perusing a murder mystery and saw the phrase "She looked at me as if she was afraid of me tearing her throat out." NO NO NO! She was not afraid of "me," she was afraid of "tearing her throat out." And whose tearing her throat out was she afraid of? "My tearing her throat out." (I think it must have been a werewolf mystery.) "I dreamed of me winning the lottery." NO NO NO! You dreamed of winning the lottery. Whose winning of the lottery? Your winning the lottery. Thus, "I dreamed of my winning the lottery." Think of it another way. If you mean you were dreaming of yourself, "I dreamed of me," and consider the "winning the lottery" as a modifying phrase, rewrite it in passive. "Me, winning the lottery, was dreamed of by me." "Me (taking out the modifier) was dreamed of by me." Doesn't make much sense. But you could say "My winning the lottery was dreamed of by me." Not very elegant phrasing, but correct grammar and makes sense. So "winning the lottery" is not a modifying phrase but a gerund, a noun, and takes the possessive pronoun "my." Got it? Well, think about it. ------------ About the author Brooks A. Mick: Physician, still practicing medicine but retired from the US Army. Write just for the fun of it, but working on novel in the vein of Tom Clancy's politico-military genre. Email: brooks15@cox.net Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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