grammaticality - Is "Forgive my being late" grammatical?


Is it grammatically correct to write "forgive my being late to this discussion" as an alternative to "sorry that I'm late to this discussion"?



Answer



Your example



Forgive my being late ...



is a typical example of a grammatical feature known as a gerund:



gerund |ˈjerənd| noun Grammar
a form that is derived from a verb but that functions as a noun, in English ending in -ing, e.g., asking in do you mind my asking you?. [NOAD]



So, yes, that is a perfectly grammatical expression.


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