Which is correct, "them" or "their"? I'm confused which is the correct pronoun for the following sentence, "them" or "their". There is no chance of ( ) winning this game. Could anybody teach me

Aya

Which is correct, "them" or "their"? I'm confused which is the correct pronoun for the following sentence, "them" or "their". There is no chance of ( ) winning this game. Could anybody teach me about this? Thank you.

Jul 10, 2015 9:14 AM

Answers · 9

'Their' is technically correct because 'winning' is a gerund and functions as a noun in that sentence, requiring the possessive form however many native speakers use either form. This site gives a more detailed explanation: http://grammartips.homestead.com/possessivewithgerund.html

July 10, 2015

"them" is corrcet.

July 10, 2015

As Susan612 has explained, technically, the correct form is 'their'. You should use a possessive adjective because 'winning' is a gerund. Gerunds function the same way as nouns, so you should say 'their winning', in the same way as you would say 'their' + any other noun. However, in informal speech, the majority of native speakers say 'them'. Strictly speaking, 'them' is incorrect, but this usage is now so widespread that it is almost acceptable.

July 10, 2015