my -ing

Is this construction used more in British English than American English?

eg.

Is my talking annoying you?

I don't know about whether it's used more in British English, but in American English the above usage is common if not the only way to say it...

I don't know about whether it's used more in American English, but in British English the above usage is common if not the only way to say it

Why do non-native speakers always try to differentiate British and American English like this? It seems whenever they are exposed to something in the language that they do not understand or seems awkward to them that it must be because the source is either American or British and not because they are just still learning?

well, in this example I think the difference is a little warranted. For instance, in the US, we would prefer to say something like:

--"I don't like *you* going to the store all the time"

whereas in British English, it's common to hear:

--"I don't like *your* going to the store all the time"
(but this can be heard in ultra-formal or ultra-conscious American speech as well, but rare in casual speech)


both make sense to me from a logical standpoint (possessive -ing vs. participle -ing), but I think that the possessive form is older and more correct from a historical perspective

<<(possessive -ing vs. participle -ing)>>
CORRECTION:
I meant gerund -ing, possessive + gerund -ing

>>"I don't like *your* going to the store all the time"<<

I'm not sure where you got the idea that it's common to hear this in UK English. Most people would say 'I don't like you going to the store (shop) all the time'. Using 'your' sounds very formal.

I don't know about whether it's used more in Canadian English, but in Australian English the above usage is common if not the only way to say it.

At least around here in Wisconsin, one will frequently hear *both* forms, with both oblique pronouns and possessives determiners. Yes, possessive determiners are more favored in higher registers than oblique pronouns are for such here, and vice versa. However, one can readily hear possessives determiners used for such in lower registers, and likewise in practice you can still generally hear oblique pronouns used for such in all but the highest registers. This sort of pattern seems to be pretty common in much of North American English, and is in no fashion particular to here in Wisconsin. Consequently, it seems very inaccurate to say that using oblique pronouns is the "NAE form" whereas using possessive determiners is the "English English or very formal NAE form".

What, pray tell, constitutes "very formal NAE"? I get tired of all the implications that AE speakers somehow *normally* speak some kind of trash that merely resembles English where at the same time BE speakers *normally* speak correctly all the time. It is a fact that BE speakers are every bit as capable of slaughtering the English language as badly if not worse than any AE speaker.

Did you actually read my entire sentence? To point out said line,

>>Consequently, it seems very inaccurate to say that using oblique pronouns is the "NAE form" whereas using possessive determiners is the "English English or very formal NAE form".<<

I was stating exactly that such a view of things is very inaccurate... you seem to have completely missed the point of what I actually said there...