LEND ME YOUR EAR: PROBLEMS WITH POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

Every properly-taught writer knows apostrophes are needed to show possession in the use of nouns, but how many are careful to omit the superscript sign in pronouns ending in "s"?

Again and again, we find "it's" for "its" in otherwise proper writing. All good writers are aware that "it's" is a contraction for "it is," and the form showing possession is "its." But haste or inattention leads to incredible mistakes, and some journalists have opted to omit the apostrophe altogether. Others follow their lead because they think it's smart to be trendy.

Trendy, gentle readers, is not necessarily correct, and a sentence is worthless unless the meaning is clear. But to insert an apostrophe where none is required can have the same effect. So why did a competent penman write "Our book has one of it's pages torn out"? The only advice I can offer that scribe is PAY ATTENTION TO PUNCTUATION.

The same rule applies for using the pronouns yours, ours, his, hers, and theirs: "These skates are yours. Those are ours. These are his. Those are hers. My children need to know which skates are theirs."

Mistakes are also rampant in the use of the relative pronouns "whose" and "who's": "Whose pen is this? Look who's coming to dinner. Whose knife is this? Look who's trying to switch a pen for a knife." Probably no one from the media, but how can we be sure these days? Is the pen really mightier than the sword?

Possessives with gerunds pose a different problem. A gerund is actually a participle used as a noun, and as such is sometimes called a participial noun. Participles take three forms: present, past, and perfect. But it is the present -- the verb form ending in "ing" -- that commands our attention in explaining the use of gerunds.

The present participle has some of the properties of a verb, and some of the properties of an adjective. Used as a verb, it may take an object, as in "The woman carrying the basket looked weighted down." "Carrying" serves as an adjective modifying "woman," and at the same time as a verb taking an object -- "basket." This double usage will cause no problem unless some alert reader asks for a diagram. I wouldn't touch it with a foot-long slanted line!

Following is a sentence from a list of waiting-to-be-used examples: "Watching the parade from her window, the elephant waved its trunk at the woman." Was it the elephant that was watching from her window? Recast, the sentence might have read: "Watching from her window, the woman saw the elephant wave its trunk at her." We assume the woman had a sense of humor and waved back.

Unlike other participles, a gerund never has a subject, and causes no end of trouble, though few writers or speakers seem to realize a problem exists. Most use the objective for the possessive as a matter of course. A short time back, in People Talk, we read:

"Jackson (Michael) declined the 23rd Scopus Award dealing with the molestation accusation that recently led to him settling a teen-ager lawsuit for an undisclosed sum." In our book, the reporter should have said the accusation led to "his" settling the lawsuit. (We don't hyphenate "teenager", but this is a direct quotation.)

Currently, a radio commentator is decrying his insurance company's practice of withholding information in the words: "I worry about them not giving me all the information I need to subscribe to their plan."

Our passion for correctness compels us to say the staffer should have worried about "their" not giving him all the information. For all we know, he could also have been concerned about "our" not worrying, or "your" not worrying, though none of us should ever accept anyone's concern about "you" and "us" not worrying.

Note that I used the possessive form of "anyone" in the preceding sentence. At least I've spared you the alternate term "genetive" throughout this discussion. Teachers who know Latin are likely to substitute "genetive" for "possessive" without realizing how confusing this can be to the untutored.

Possessives with gerunds was the subject of an earlier Lend Me Your Ear column way back in April 1983, and as long-time readers know, I've been harping on the misuses ever since. I also sent a copy of that number to President Reagan, and received a gracious thank-you for my effort. Moreover, I never heard Ronald Reagan misuse possessives with gerunds again.

Gary Rust mastered this usage years ago during a brief exchange when we met in the old Bulletin office. Anyone out there besides President Reagan and President Gary who learned how to use gerunds properly in a single lesson?