Which on is correct? "lead to your being jaded" or "lead to you being jaded"
I've listened to a BBC programme. And I had a question about phrase lead to. Here's the sentence.
"And that can lead to your/you being jaded, which is a feeling of dissatisfaction and boredom with something that has been going on for a while."
I can figure out whether it's the word "your" or "you".
Could anyone explain the usage of the phrase "lead to" here, and should I use your or you from the perspective of grammar?
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 7
1
Su.Ki's answer is perfect.
To see this clearly, as she says, tHink of the gerund (v+ing) as a noun.
Toys are fun.(toys = noun) Swimming is fun. (swimming - gerund, acting as a noun)--
I like apples. I like swimming.
Before a noun, you would use the possessive adjective, not the object pronoun.
My toys are better than your toys.
His swimming has gotten better over the years. You would not say "him swimming)
1
Lead to describes a gradual process.
It's commonly used to describe how certain events lead to a certain outcome.
As for you/your. In my opinion, it sounds extremely strange to use "your" in that sentence. I would have said "you" but not that I've studied English grammar, so sorry I can't explain it.
1
'Your' is the correct word. This is because 'being jaded' is a gerund phrase that needs to be treated as a noun - hence the possessive determiner.
That said, it is very common to come across object pronouns being used instead. For example, it's more common to say 'I don't mind him being here' rather than the (more correct) 'I don't mind his being here'. It's one of these cases where the 'right' word sounds more wrong than the 'wrong' word to most native speakers.*
I can't speak for other exam boards, but on a Cambridge exam -for example, CAE or First - you would have either word marked as correct. We wouldn't penalise you for using an object pronoun.
NB * .* Matt's comment below - 'In my opinion, it sounds extremely strange to use "your" in that sentence. I would have said "you" ' - proves this point. The supposedly right answer often does sound wrong to native speakers.
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