Question about grammar...

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1

<p>I have a question about a specific grammar rule. I'm thinking of a sentence like this:</p>

<p>Termites are hard to notice right away, but damage caused by them chewing through wood is sometimes visible on the outside of your house. </p>

<p>Is that correct, or should it be:</p>

<p>Termites are hard to notice right away, but damage caused by their chewing through wood is sometimes visible on the outside of your house. </p>

<p>The difference is whether it's "them" or "their" - my gut says the latter, but I really don't know why. Any thoughts?</p>

2

<p>it should be their in this case.
I also think it can be them but you need to put comma after ''them''</p>

3

<p>It's "their" because "chewing" is a gerund--a form of a verb being used as a noun. Therefore, "chewing" takes the adjectival form "their" as its modifier.</p>

<p>Cr7_ManUtd would have a valid point about the acceptability of "them," if the sentence ended with the word "wood." But it doesn't work with the "is sometimes . . . "</p>

<p>Edit: Wow, I must have hit some weird control key. Sorry about the repeated sentence and the incomprehensible part--can't find the hidden "glyph of incomprehensibility" that caused it.</p>

4

<p>Couldn't chewing be considered a participle modifying them?</p>

5

<p>Well, yes, 112358, you could say
. . . damage caused by them, chewing through wood, is sometimes visible . . .
but then you'd need 2 commas to set off the participial phrase.</p>

<p>CB does use this type of question, with the possessive modifying a gerund, quite a lot.</p>

<p>PS: I like your UserName, 112358. :)</p>

6

<p>"their" is correct, although it's an awkward sentence.
The damage is caused by "chewing," not by "them."</p>

7

<p>Having realized that the damage is caused not by termites, but only by their chewing, I have decided to start a sideline business: QuantMech's A-OK Termite Muzzles! :)</p>

8

<p>Great idea! You probably won't earn that much on each muzzle, but the volume of sales could be terrific.</p>

9

<p>The catch is finding a way to get them on :)</p>

<p>
[quote]
PS: I like your UserName, 112358.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>lol, I can never think of usernames I like, so this time I just decided to make it easy and go with numbers.</p>