I object to you having a girlfriend. vs I object you to having a girlfriend.

[Serzige]

Hi there!

"I object to you having a girlfriend" or "I object you to having a girlfriend"
Which is the correct one?

Thanks in advance!
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Sergio M.
"Life is too short to grieve in sorrow"

[Milanya]

I object to your having a girlfriend.

Do not forget a period at the end of a sentence.
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con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.

[Maryann]

As far as I know "I object to you+verb+ing" is also possible. If not, provide any explanation, please.

Maryann

[Milanya]

When a gerund is preceded by a noun or pronoun, the noun or pronoun must be in the possessive case. Accordingly, it is correct to say I can understand his wanting to go, but incorrect to say I can understand him wanting to go.
Harbrage College Handbook
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con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.

[Maryann]

I'm a little bit puzzled. What about this sentence "I object to you playing any other court sim game"? which you can find here watch this

Maryann

[Cerberus™]

Maryann, there have been hot disputes about the construction you are defending, it is often called "fused participle".

In general, I think most grammarians approve of it now, though not all; I think the most traditional ones will not approve. Using it with a pronoun is a bit different: more people disapprove of it then, they would have you use the possessive pronoun. Still, I should say that "I saw him coming" and such are often used by native speakers, and I think most foreign students will not be corrected. Although I am not entirely sure about this.

[Esl_Expert]

Hello Maryann,

In addition to the grammar information that you might find on this site, the following website is a very good source of information for grammar rules that you should know for academic or formal written English:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/index.htm

If you visit the link below, scroll down to "Using Possessives with Gerunds". The write-up about when to use possessives with gerunds is quite good.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/gerunds.htm
As you will see in that link, there are also situations in which a possessive noun/pronoun should not automatically be used simply because it is followed by the -ing form of a verb. An old Beatles song provides an interesting example of just such a situation:
- I saw her standing there.
"Her" is not a possessive adjective in that sentence. It is the object form of the pronoun "she". These sentences would also be correct:
- I saw him standing there.
- I saw Maryann standing there.

With respect to the sentence you posted, if formally correct (traditional) grammar rules had been applied, then the word "your" rather than "you" would have been used.
In informal everyday English, however, it is not at all unusual for people to use an object pronoun rather than a possessive adjective in such a sentence.

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— Abraham Lincoln

[Alan]

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Hi Serzige,

With reference to your sentences:

"I object to you having a girlfriend" or "I object you to having a girlfriend".

Let's put aside the heavy grammar talk for a minute - the second one doesn't really make sense because the verb 'object' needs the preposition 'to' if it's going to take an object. I think others have gone down a different track in their responses. Am I right?

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[Maryann]

Many thanks, Esl Expert (don't know your real name) for those helpful links you've shared with us. The information, given there, made it clear for me the usage of Possessives with Gerunds and its explanation.

Maryann

[Anna.ha]

hey, i'd like to ask a question here by the way. What do people mean by saying:

1- It's subject to do something.
2- It's object to do something.

Please help

[Maryann]

Here is Alan's explanation as to the meaning of subject and object Follow here

Maryann

[Cerberus™]

[Anna.ha]

Sorry to have made confusion. What I meant was I wanted to ask about "subject" and "object" in the following context.

- Technological innovation, as discussed above, is subject to the law of diminishing returns.

- In contrast, something is object to us when we can take a perspective on it...

And what is the meaning of either of the following contructions

1- to be subject to gerund/ing form
2- to be object to gerund/ing form

Is this cleared up? Please help Cerberous.

Thanks

[Serzige]

[Cerberus™]

I have answered about "subject" in this thread:
http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic35444.html
My comments in bold: