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From a grammar book, I got this example of gerund transformation:

Adam joined the forum.

Transformed into a gerund phrase:

Adam's joining the forum


What if there is a noun before joining like these?

I'm happy about Adam's time joining the forum.

Thank you for your time joining the forum.

Are the last 2 sentences correct?

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  • They're not correct in this specific case, because "to join" is considered an instantaneous event; you would say "He joined the forum in May 2015" but not "He was joining the forum for five months." You could use it for an ongoing action, like "His time leading the organization" or "His time swimming the ocean", though. – stangdon Oct 25 '17 at 11:27
  • @stangdon, did you mean Thank you for your time leading the organization., I'm happy about Adam's time swimming the ocean., or I'm happy about Adam's time leading the organization. is fine? – user1764381 Oct 25 '17 at 12:36
  • @stangdon, about the 2 sentences that I posted, when you said they were not correct, did you mean that they are grammatically correct but semantically wrong? – user1764381 Oct 25 '17 at 12:37
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    Yes, I meant that the sentences I posted are fine. The ones you posted are grammatically correct but semantically wrong, because it sounds like Adam spent time joining the forum, which is not (I think) what you mean; you mean Adam spent time as a member of the forum. – stangdon Oct 25 '17 at 15:21
  • @stangdon, what I actually meant by time is that for example you are not busy or managed to find time like Thank you stangdon for your time posting your comments here.. In this case, may I know if time to refer to your free time is awkward? – user1764381 Oct 30 '17 at 5:33
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They are not correct.

Adam's joining the forum or Adam joining the forum reduces the clause to a phrase. Whatever noun or possessive noun comes before 'joining' is effectively the subject. Time is an odd choice of subject.

I.e. Time joins the forum.

Putting John's before this gerund phrase makes it doubly strange.

Perhaps it's not syntactically incorrect, but it would confuse any native speaker.

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  • Thank you @Robert. What I actually meant was about having a noun phrase that starts with time as part of a sentence like the 2 sentences that I posted. By time, I'm referring to something like a free time, or being able to find time. – user1764381 Oct 30 '17 at 5:38

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