From: DD Farms <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Clause or Phrase
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Friday, December 12, 2008, 11:30 PM

At 10:44 PM 12/12/2008, John Curran wrote:
> The boy was very happy that his mother did not see him being such a pig.
. . .

DD: The analysis went off into what sort of clause followed, "that." 
Arrgh. Shouldn't some attention have been placed on the use of
"him" instead of "his?" If the emphasis is on whom the
mother saw, then I will allow "him," but insist on a comma after. If
the emphasis is on what the mother saw, I suggest it was the action following a
possessive, "his."  It is awkward in the first case, as that comma
might be interpreted to his mother's being the pig. Still, I think that if
you allow less than high standard English to prevail, the possessive and the
gerund connection is ignored.

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