Use of a possessive gerund or a plain participle often a matter of emphasis.

“I can’t object to your whistling,” said my sister, “as long as you don’t complain of me humming.”

Today’s topic, you will have correctly surmised, is the Gerundicus Strabismicus, popularly known as the cross-eyed participle or gerund with possessive. The species has been around for the past 500 years.

The editors of Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage remark that grammarians and commentators have been baffled by the construction. “They cannot parse it, they cannot explain it, they cannot decide whether the possessive is correct or not.”

My inconsistent sister was in good company. She coupled “your whistling” with “me humming,” and who is to say she was wrong? Webster’s quotes Lewis Carroll in a letter in 1867: “… in hopes of his being able to join me.” In the same letter Carroll said of a conversation, “I suppose the music prevented any of it being heard.” Boswell, Dickens and Thackeray sometimes used the possessive pronoun, sometimes not.

A couple of years ago a reporter for the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch covered the trial of a local executive charged with tax evasion. “Schultz’s efforts to hide much of the $11.3 million resulted in him pleading guilty Thursday in federal court.” Would “his pleading guilty” have been better? I believe so, but you decide.

In “The New Fowler’s,” editor R.W. Burchfield searches for a consistent pattern. He cannot find one. The possessive frequently appears with a proper name or a personal noun: “There is always the problem of Reagan’s saying he doesn’t remember.” “This makes it difficult to deduce any motive for Cope’s collecting the books.” On the other hand, the possessive form often disappears: “Preserving his reputation depended upon Housman disguising his real nature.” Writers will get no unequivocal pronouncements here.

With nonpersonal nouns, Burchfield observes, the possessive generally is not used: “We had our old conversation about the house being haunted.” “It’s the familiar story of the pot calling the kettle black.” “The argument ended without a shot being fired.”

Burchfield finds that usage is divided with indefinite pronouns: “There are sound reasons for everyone’s wanting to join the Gold Rush” (possessive). But, “The AIDS epidemic may be seen as a symptom of something having gone fundamentally wrong …” (non-possessive).

Let me contribute to the confusion. The choice of a possessive gerund or a plain vanilla participle often is a matter of emphasis. There is a subtle difference between “I can’t imagine ME wearing a kilt” and “I can’t imagine MY wearing a kilt.” The choice may depend upon cadence. It will be affected by the formality or informality of our forum. Does “my whistling” sound better than “me humming?” (Truth to tell, my sister’s humming always sounded better than my whistling, but no matter.) On this recurring question of usage, writers cannot turn to ironclad rules of construction. What finally counts is a writer’s ear.

Alfred Fippinger, a nonagenarian who writes from West Palm Beach, Fla., inquires about another area of uncertain usage: the distinction between “shall” and “will.” Eighty years ago he was taught to use “shall” in (1) first-person constructions involving the future and (2) in constructions expressing determination, permission or compulsion. Is this still the rule?

My impression is that Rule (1) has faded to the point of disappearance. Rule (2) remains in effect. It would sound somewhere between stilted and prissy to insist on, “We shall be sailing on Tuesday,” or “I shall be in Buffalo next month.” In his “Usage and Abusage,” Eric Partridge rued the fast displacement of “shall” by “will.” The tendency “is a pity,” he said, “for once ‘shall’ has disappeared we shall have lost many subtle and useful distinctions.” Maybe so, but I doubt that much of value has been lost by asking, “Should I get out the gin?” instead of, “Shall I get out the gin?” Either way, a cold martini is in prospect. Nice prospect, too.

James Kilpatrick is a syndicated columnist.

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