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In this sentence:

Cherry had never conceived of Miss Sullivan’s having a sister.

Why is there an ’s right after Miss Sullivan?

herisson
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Sally
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    Because Miss Sullivan is the subject of the gerund having, and subjects of gerunds (when they're present -- they're often deleted) may be either possessive (his, my, Miss Sullivan's; that's called the POSS-ing gerund complementizer), or accusative (objective: him, me, Miss Sullivan), which is called the ACC-ing gerund complementizer. Both are correct; it's speaker's choice which one to use -- or whether to leave the subject there at all, for that matter. – John Lawler Aug 27 '15 at 14:58
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    Oh I understand! Just realized - what a stupid question I just asked! Nevertheless, thanks! – Sally Aug 27 '15 at 15:07
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    Not knowing how to ask questions about strange phenomena is normal, and can be found in most of the questions here. No need to insult yourself. Asking the question is the important thing. – John Lawler Aug 27 '15 at 15:15
  • @Sally - But I think the sentence would also work without the apostrophe S. – aparente001 Aug 29 '15 at 21:23

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