Sentences with Gerund

[hirashin]

Dear native English speakers,
would you check my sentences again? Would all the sentences sound good?

1 I like playing video games after dinner.
2 Thank you for inviting me.
3a My mother doesn't like me wearing short skirts.
3b My mother doesn't like my wearing short skirts.
4a He is anxious about his daughter's staying there alone.
4b He is worried about his daughter's staying there alone.
4c He is anxious about his daughter staying there alone.
4d He is worried about his daughter staying there alone.
[Would all 4a through 4d have the same meaning?]

5a Getting regular exercise is a good habit.
5b Taking regular exercise is a good habit.
5c Doing regular exercise is a good habit.
5d Exercising regularly is a good habit.
6a I'm sorry for not coming earlier
6b I'm sorry for being late.
7a He is proud of being a professional baseball player.
7b He is proud of having been a professional baseball player.
7c He was proud of being a professional baseball player.
7d He was proud of having been a professional baseball player.

Would 7b mean 8b?
8b He is proud that he was [/has been] a professional baseball player.

Would 7d mean 8d?
8d He was proud that he had been a professional baseball player.

Would both be used?
9a My job is writing essays on travels
9b My job is to write essays on travel.

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin

 

[LosMaster]

Greetings, Hirashin-san.
I will post my corrections below.

1 I like playing video games after dinner.

Correct.​

2 Thank you for inviting me.

Correct.​

3a My mother doesn't like me wearing short skirts.

Correct.​

3b My mother doesn't like my wearing short skirts.

Incorrect. Using "my" here is not natural.​

4a He is anxious about his daughter's staying there alone.
4b He is worried about his daughter's staying there alone.

4a and 4b are incorrect. It is not natural in English
​

4c He is anxious about his daughter staying there alone.
4d He is worried about his daughter staying there alone.

4c and 4d are both correct. "Anxious" and "worried" can both be used here, although I'd say "anxious" is more common.​

In summary, it may be easier to picture the sentence without the accompanying verb.

"He is anxious about his daughter [staying there alone.]"
"He is anxious about his daughter's [staying there alone.]"

Without "staying there alone," it is more natural to say "daughter," not "daughter's."

-> "He is anxious about his daughter."​

Another example:
"My mother doesn't like me [wearing short skirts.]"
"My mother doesn't like my [wearing short skirts.]"

Without "wearing short skirts," it is more natural to say "me," not "my."

-> "My mother doesn't like me."​

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5a Getting regular exercise is a good habit.
5b Taking regular exercise is a good habit.
5c Doing regular exercise is a good habit.
5d Exercising regularly is a good habit.

5a, 5c, and 5d are all correct.
5b is incorrect. In English, one does not "take regular exercise."
The most correct would be 5d. There is a bit of ambiguity with 5a and 5c.​

6a I'm sorry for not coming earlier.
6b I'm sorry for being late.

I would say that both work here. I prefer 6b to 6a as it sounds more natural. As well, some may say "sooner" instead of "earlier," but this is more a case of preference.​

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7a He is proud of being a professional baseball player.
7b He is proud of having been a professional baseball player.
7c He was proud of being a professional baseball player.
7d He was proud of having been a professional baseball player.

Would 7b mean 8b?
8b He is proud that he was [/has been] a professional baseball player.

Yes, they would have the same meaning. I would say that 7b is rather tedious though. 8b flows more easily with "was." It is safer to use "was" than "has been" in most cases, from my experience.​

Would 7d mean 8d?
8d He was proud that he had been a professional baseball player.

Yes, these both work. Again, I would say that 8d flows more easily. Using the gerund in this case isn't entirely necessary.​

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Would both be used?
9a My job is writing essays on travels
9b My job is to write essays on travel.

9b would be used here. 9a could have "writing" if you use a verb other than "is." For example:

"My job involves writing essays as I travel."​

9a isn't entirely wrong, but doesn't really flow naturally.​

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I understand if this is a bit difficult to understand. I'll gladly follow up with any questions.

 

[diligentcircle]

3b My mother doesn't like my wearing short skirts.
Incorrect. Using "my" here is not natural.

4a He is anxious about his daughter's staying there alone.
4b He is worried about his daughter's staying there alone.
4a and 4b are incorrect. It is not natural in English

In summary, it may be easier to picture the sentence without the accompanying verb.
"He is anxious about his daughter [staying there alone.]"
"He is anxious about his daughter's [staying there alone.]"
Without "staying there alone," it is more natural to say "daughter," not "daughter's."
-> "He is anxious about his daughter."
Another example:
"My mother doesn't like me [wearing short skirts.]"
"My mother doesn't like my [wearing short skirts.]"
Without "wearing short skirts," it is more natural to say "me," not "my."
-> "My mother doesn't like me."

I disagree completely with all of this.

Firstly, I don't see how any of what you said here is wrong can be considered to be wrong. I've seen and even used these kinds of expressions several times before. If anything, they sound more proper to me.

Secondly, your reasoning for why these are supposedly wrong makes no sense. The statement about your mother not liking you to wear short skirts doesn't mean that she doesn't like you. It doesn't even connect to whether or not she likes you. It's 100% about the wearing of short skirts. The same goes for the one about worry/anxiety.

Though there is one possibly good reason to not use that construct in speech. A lot of the time, possessives sound identical to plurals. For example, there is no difference in how these two sound, even though they have different meanings:

He is worried about his daughter's staying there alone.
He is worried about his daughters staying there alone.

I'd say "anxious" is more common.

I can't say I agree to that. Anxiety and worry are not the same thing. Anxiety is more severe. Which is more common would depend on how the subject reacts to these things.

5b is incorrect. In English, one does not "take regular exercise."

Someone has mentioned in a previous thread that it's normal usage in British English. Remember that different dialects have differences in rules.

I prefer 6b to 6a as it sounds more natural.

I disagree that 6b sounds more natural than 6a. I think they both are equally good. I've heard 6a plenty of times before.

9a isn't entirely wrong, but doesn't really flow naturally.

I disagree that it doesn't flow naturally. I think "my job is writing" is a perfect construction. I would have no problem saying: "My jobs are ringing up people's groceries and developing libre games." In fact, that's probably how I would put it.


Just to clarify, in answer to the original post: I think all sentences given are perfect, and the answers to all the questions are "yes", with one exception:

4a He is anxious about his daughter's staying there alone.
4b He is worried about his daughter's staying there alone.
4c He is anxious about his daughter staying there alone.
4d He is worried about his daughter staying there alone.
[Would all 4a through 4d have the same meaning?]

No, because "anxious" and "worried" are not the same meaning. "Anxious" is stronger than "worried". However, 4a and 4c are the same, and 4b and 4d are the same.