Question

The maid said something about the American lady's having come back home. In which function is gerund used in this sentence?

Answer 1

This Perfect Gerund is used as an object.

Answer 2

In the sentence you provided, the gerund "having" is used as the present participle of the verb "to have" in the progressive form. Specifically, it is used in the present perfect progressive tense.

The sentence: "The maid said something about the American lady's having come back home."

In this sentence, "having come back home" acts as a modifier for "the American lady's" and provides additional information about her action of returning home. The gerund "having" is part of the complete verb phrase "having come back home," which functions as a participial phrase modifying the noun "American lady's."