I left the house due to it(s) being too loud.

[FormiddableDrip]

"I left the house due to it(s) being too loud."

I am just wondering if "it" should be possessive in this case. It seems there are many conflicting opinions about this point, and many threads have been made about it. Some argue that it is more formal, others that it depends on the context, and still others that it is only correct to use the possessive.

In this example, which is preferable? I think either works and that it makes no difference, so I'd likely exclude it, as it sounds better that way, I think.

 

[dojibear]

1. I left the house due to it being too loud.
2. I left the house due to its being too loud.

To me, 1 sounds better.

 

[bennymix]

Trying to picture the context. Something like --

OP+ "My roommate was practicing rock music without headphones; I left the house due to it/s being too loud. "

Still sounds odd. I'm thinking of picky issues like these: Due to vs. Because of: Distinctions and Proper Use

Nonetheless I agree with doji-- 2. sounds a bit precious.

 

[dojibear]

I left the house due to it(s) being too loud.

This does sound odd. How can a house be loud? Houses don't make noise.

So "it" can't mean "the house", can it? Must be that "dummy it" I've read about.

It was too loud there, so I left.

 

[bennymix]

This does sound odd. How can a house be loud? Houses don't make noise.

So "it" can't mean "the house", can it? Must be that "dummy it" I've read about.

It was too loud there, so I left.

So, according to the 'dummy' idea and following the OP, "It/s being too loud, I left" or "It/s being too loud caused me to leave."

Still, an odd result.

 

[FormiddableDrip]

This does sound odd. How can a house be loud? Houses don't make noise.

So "it" can't mean "the house", can it? Must be that "dummy it" I've read about.

It was too loud there, so I left.

Reading the sentence again, I am not sure that "it" actually refers to "the house," so you may be right that it is semantically kind of empty.

 

[entangledbank]

You can separate 'it' from the house in a sentence that makes it definitely a dummy subject:

It was too noisy in the house, so I left.

So try to create a situation where 'it' is definitely the house:

We didn't buy the house due to it(s) being too expensive.

Actually, even that could be a dummy subject:

It was too expensive to buy the house, so we didn't.

Right, let's nail it down so it has to be the house:

We didn't buy the house due to it(s) not having enough bedrooms.

Now we have something where I feel both 'it' and 'its' are about equally good, with no nagging feelings there's something amiss. With common nouns, the possessive is more formal, but I think with pronouns it's still pretty normal.