Him/His

[Anonymous]

Hello teachers!
Would you please help me with this?
- Paul/Paul's talking back to his mother was understandable
I know that in the sentence above, we can use either "Paul" or "Paul's." Am I right?
If so, in the sentence below, can we use either "Him" or "His"? "His" seems very strange to me, so I think "Him" is incorrect. Am I right?
- Him/His talking back to his mother was understandable
Thank you very much.
Best regards.

[Pete]

-- Some people who emphasize traditional prescriptive grammar would insist on the possessive. On the other hand, in informal speech, the non-possessive (noun or objective pronoun) is often heard. You tend to use the possessive when the whole phrase is considered together or the gerund is clearly the word of interest. Using the non-possessive gives specific emphasis to that word.

For instance, you would say:
- Paul talking back to his mother was understandable; Jane would not have done that. [This emphasizes that you are specifically talking about Paul.]

Unless you are making such an emphasis on "HIM" as the actor, I personally think "His talking back ... " is more natural.