Writing Tips
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Index P
- Pacific Daylight Time
- Pacific Standard Time
- paed-
- paedo-
- palaeo-
- paleo-
- pan-
- Panjabi
- para-
- parallel between
- parallelism in headings
- parallelism with correlative conjunctions
- parallelism with items in a series
- parallel to
- parallel with
- Paralympic Winter Games
- paralyse
- paralyze
- parentheses
- Parsi
- participle
- participle phrase
- particular to
- Pashto
- Pashtun
- passive voice
- past history
- past tradition
- patho-
- patri-
- patro-
- PDT
- PE
- peculiar to
- ped-
- pedal
- peddle
- pedi-
- pedo- (1)
- pedo- (2)
- P.E.I.
- penta-
- per
- per-
- per cent
- percent
- per-cent
- percentage
- perfectly legitimate
- peri-
- period
- period of time
- permanent resident
- perpendicular to
- perpendicular with
- Persian (1)
- Persian (2)
- persist in
- Perso-
- person
- personal
- personal pronouns
- personification
- personnel
- perspective (from the)
- petr-
- petri-
- phase
- PhD
- Ph.D.
- phenom
- phenomena
- phenomenon
- phleb-
- phosphorous
- phosphorus
- photo-
- photocopy
- physio-
- phyto-
- picto-
- Pilipino
- plan
- planning
- planning in advance
- plug
- plurals of compounds
- plurals of family names
- pluri-
- p.m.
- pneumo-
- poet
- poetess
- point at
- point out
- point to
- poisonous
- poly-
- Poppy Day
- possessive with gerunds
- post
- post-
- post on
- post to
- pound sign
- practicable
- practical
- practically
- practice
- practise
- pre
- pre-
- precedents
- preceding
- precise
- precision
- predicate
- predict
- predict in advance
- preface
- preferable
- preference for
- preference in
- prefer one to the other
- preoccupied about
- preoccupied by
- preoccupied with
- preplan
- preplanning
- prepositional phrase
- prepositions
- prerequisite
- presently
- present to
- present with
- preside at
- preside over
- presume
- pretence
- pretense
- preventable
- prevent from
- preventible
- prevent to
- previous
- previously listed
- previously listed above
- Prince Edward Island
- Prince Edward Islander
- principal
- principle
- prior
- prise
- prize
- pro-
- procedure
- proceed against
- proceed to
- proceed with
- process
- prohibit from
- pronoun agreement: collective nouns
- pronoun agreement: compound antecedents with and
- pronoun agreement: compound antecedents with or
- pronoun agreement: gender
- pronoun agreement: indefinite pronouns
- pronoun agreement: number
- pronoun agreement: person
- property owner
- prophecy
- prophesy
- proportional(y)
- proportionate(ly)
- provide a description
- provide against
- provide for
- provide with
- proximity
- pseudo-
- PST
- psycho-
- public service: capitalization rules (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
- punctuation: spacing
- Punjabi
- pursuance (in)
- put in place
- put into place
- pyro-
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possessive with gerunds
A gerund is a verb form ending in ing, such as being, doing, having, going, reading or writing. Although it is a verb form, a gerund does not act as a verb. Instead, it acts as a noun and can do whatever a noun can do. For example, a gerund can be the subject or object of a verb or the object of a preposition:
- Leaving was a wise decision. [Leaving is the subject of the verb was.]
- We celebrated winning. [Winning is the object of the verb celebrated.]
- Natalie objects to borrowing. [Borrowing is the object of the preposition to.]
Using the possessive before a gerund
We often put a noun or pronoun in front of a gerund to show who or what is doing the action in the gerund. This noun or pronoun is called the subject of the gerund. In formal writing, the subject of the gerund should be in the possessive form:
- Your leaving early was a wise decision.
- We celebrated Gord’s winning the contest.
- Natalie objected to my borrowing her hockey stick.
Note: In informal writing, there is a trend toward dropping the possessive before a gerund. We often use a simple noun or an object pronoun instead:
- We celebrated Gord winning the contest.
- Natalie objected to me borrowing her hockey stick.
However, in formal writing, the use of the possessive form before a gerund is still preferred. Also, the possessive form may be important for clarity. Consider the difference between the two examples below:
- Jorge is in favour of the candidate being interviewed Friday. [Jorge likes the candidate who has an interview on Friday.]
- Jorge is in favour of the candidate’s being interviewed Friday. [Jorge wants the interview to be on Friday.]
Rewording to avoid the possessive
If the possessive before a gerund seems stilted, simply reword the sentence:
- Your decision to leave early was a wise one.
- We celebrated Gord’s success.
- Natalie objected when I borrowed her hockey stick.
- Jorge is in favour of holding the interview Friday.
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