Pronoun use

MollyB   Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:49 pm GMT
Verdict?

"My roommates are rather concerned about me/my dancing."

Me or my?

Source: http://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/the-prescriptivists-untying-of-this-gordian-knot-is-flawed/
Guest   Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:12 pm GMT
I'm not a native. To me there are two different meanings:
1. "My roommates are rather concerned about me (dancing)."
2. "My roommates are rather concerned about (my) dancing."
Am I right?
Skippy   Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:53 pm GMT
Either one works, though they have slightly different meanings. The first one may imply that you hurt your leg or something and your friends are concerned about you hurting yourself. The second one implies that you can't dance very well.
Guest   Fri Feb 22, 2008 6:07 pm GMT
Exactly. There could be no verdict "me or my", they're different sentences.
MollyB   Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:12 pm GMT
<We don't need three threads on the same topic. I'm deleting the other two. >

Hm. You could at least have asked.
Pos   Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:13 pm GMT
Here Josh goes again with his amateur approach to moderation. When will we get a moderator who knows what he is doing?
MollyB   Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:49 pm GMT
<There was no need for three threads on the same subject.>

The questions were actually quite different, that's why each thread had a different name. I'm sorry, but do agree with Pos, you often don't know what you are doing.
Pos   Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:51 pm GMT
"No one asked your opinion."

Do we need to be asked before giving an opinion? Your God complex is showing, Josh.
Guest   Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:03 pm GMT
"My roommates are rather concerned about me/my dancing."

Me or my?


MY - more formal
ME - more informal/colloquial (many grammarians object to this usage)
Guest   Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:54 pm GMT
<<MY - more formal
ME - more informal/colloquial (many grammarians object to this usage) >>

Do you have a published source for that information?
Guest   Sat Feb 23, 2008 4:20 am GMT
Lol. You couldn't resist, could you, Josh? I was thinking something similar.
MrPedantic   Sat Feb 23, 2008 11:34 am GMT
Hello M. old chap,

1. My roommates are rather concerned about me dancing.
2. My roommates are rather concerned about my dancing.

In #2, the focus of concern is the act of dancing. In #1, the focus of concern is that that particular person is dancing.

MrP

PS: E pluribus unum, eh. ;)
MollyB   Sat Feb 23, 2008 8:59 pm GMT
Mr P. Why did you miss this bit out?

<<I would agree that in a real situation, context would probably ensure that both versions were interpreted in the same way. >>
Guest   Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:03 pm GMT
I really don't think there's any fat to chew here.
MrPedantic   Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:23 pm GMT
<Mr P. Why did you miss this bit out?>

Because I hadn't thought of it, at that stage.

MrP