Drive around

[ROBINDESBOIS]

Can we say I remember you driving me around to show me some small villages?
I remember your driving me everywhere to show me around?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

Can we say I remember you driving me around to show me some small villages?
I remember your driving me everywhere to show me around?

The second one seems almost tautologous, with the 'everywhere' and the 'around' having the same idea.

The first one is good, except your not you. Driving is a gerund, and a noun, and is the direct object of remember. It thus needs a possessive adjective.
It is exactly the same construction as

I remember your brother.

I mention this detail because it is a very common practice to say you, not your. In fact, it could be argued that this is a different construction, with you as the direct object and the sense being

I remember you (when you were) driving me around.

In that case, driving is a present participle (=gerundio) , and an adjective.

I still think this is incorrect. What thinks Rusty?

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by Perikles

...
The first one is good, except your not you. Driving is a gerund, and a noun, and is the direct object of remember. It thus needs a possessive adjective...

I agree with you on this: it's what my 11th-grade English teacher taught us <mumble> years ago.

[Awaken]

Just to add, Perkiles is correct. But in daily speak, your first sentence would be understood without a 2nd thought.

The first sentence seems to have an understood "when you were ...."

[poli]

Es una buena prugunta. Me muestra que has logrado un conocimieto de inglés como yo quisiera tener en español


Both sentences are correct. The second one sounds very old however, and almost poetically reminiscent. It is difficult to justify it grammatically, but it relates to the Spanish imperfecto.

I can imgine in a movie, someone narrating "I remember his playing the clarinet when we were children" as a sepia-toned flashback comes to focus.

You should know that in common speech you are not too likely to hear this except perhaps at a eulogy.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Perikles

The first one is good, except your not you. Driving is a gerund, and a noun, and is the direct object of remember. It thus needs a possessive adjective.
It is exactly the same construction as

I remember your brother.

I mention this detail because it is a very common practice to say you, not your. In fact, it could be argued that this is a different construction, with you as the direct object and the sense being

I remember you (when you were) driving me around.

In that case, driving is a present participle (=gerundio) , and an adjective.

I still think this is incorrect. What thinks Rusty?

I agree with what you wrote, because you gave support for both options.

Indeed, both are correct, but they don't mean the same thing. If you're emphasizing the person, you use 'you'. If you are placing the emphasis on the action, you use 'your'.

Most people are thinking about the action, not the person, when they mistakenly use 'you', though. If you google "I remember you saying" and "I remember your saying," you'll see quite a spread in the number of hits. The majority of those who chose 'you' over 'your' got it wrong.

" Here's an example of a correct sentence:

That baby’s crying is getting on my nerves.

You wouldn’t (or at least shouldn’t) say, “That baby crying is getting on my nerves,” for although the baby may be irritating you, the real source of your nervous irritation is the crying itself and, therefore, the subject of the sentence.

Alternatively, you might say, “That crying baby is getting on my nerves,” and then the baby is the subject of the sentence, as well as the object of your disdain, but “crying” is no longer a gerund in that sentence, it's become an adjective. You can tell because you can't replace ”crying” with a noun anymore. ...

Anyway, back to “the baby’s crying.” It’s the crying, again, that’s the noun and subject, so the modifier needs the proper structure—in this case, a possessive form: “baby’s.” Whose crying is depriving you of your nap on the plane? The baby’s crying, that’s whose. "

" Let's take another example ...
Let’s say a colleague has agreed to take your work shift so you can attend a family event out of town. How would you express your gratitude? (Of course, taking that person to lunch would be a gracious gesture, but how would you thank your colleague verbally?)

“I appreciate you filling in for me, Myrtle,” would be the common, though incorrect, way of acknowledging the kindness. Though you might appreciate Myrtle for filling in for you –— and you certainly could express it that way — you really appreciate the “filling in” itself. Therefore, because it’s Myrtle’s filling in that’s the object of the verb “appreciate,” you would say, “I appreciate your filling in for me, Myrtle.” "
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com...d-gerunds.aspx

" ... which sentence is correct:

We appreciate you contacting the office.
We appreciate your contacting the office.

Both are correct, but they have slightly different meanings. If you appreciate that someone contacted the office (the act of contacting), use "your." It's roughly equivalent to "We appreciate that you contacted the office." If you appreciate the person who contacted the office, use "you."

Typically, you want the possessive pronoun: We appreciate your contacting the office. "
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com...h-gerunds.aspx

[Awaken]

Thanks Rusty.

I feel smarter today just from reading that.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Thank you, Rusty!
I was starting to worry about the way I've been used using such constructions.

[Rusty]

You're welcome! I'm glad there are people like Grammar Girl.

[Calcoyote]

Wow. When I read threads like this it makes me think that maybe I need to stop studying Spanish and study my native language of English.

[ROBINDESBOIS]

Thanks everybody