Question

His playing the chords improved our performance or Him playing the chords improved our performance?

Answer 1

I am thinking "His playing the chords improved our performance." I am not sure though. An explanation would be helpful.

Answer 2

The first one would be correct except you would have to write it as "His playing OF the chords improved our performance." A good test for this is to replace the word "his" for "my" and seeing if it makes sense. My playing the chords does not make sense.That's why I would choose the second option. Although it sounds a bit awkward, it is grammatically correct. When you see a "her" or "him", replace it with "people" and see if it makes sense.

Answer 3

That was an excellent response @PedroPovedaq! I cannot thank you enough. The question is multiple choice, so I can't change the sentence around. Using your advice... "People playing the chords improved our performance" seems better than "My playing the chords improved our performance." Would I be correct in saying this?

Answer 4

That's correct!