student asking question

What does "my giving you the umbrella" mean? Is it common to put "my" in front of a gerund?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Yes, it is actually quite common to use "my" in this way. Although "me" seems like the correct word to use here, it is actually wrong. The speaker has used "my" here to make a regular verb ending in "-ing" function as a noun. This is called a gerund. You can understand "my giving you the umbrella" as "my (action of) giving you the umbrella." Ex: I enjoyed your cooking. Ex: Do you mind my dropping by and visiting your grandmother?

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