"bacteria or germs" is a compound direct object after the gerund "controlling" which is the object of the preposition "of"

Question

Make sense?

I hope you'll point out to your teacher that non-word that is serving as a direct object after the main verb "showed."

=)

He showed scientists the potentiallty of controlling bacteria or germs.

Would "bacteria or germs" be a part of the prepositional phrase.
(I know that potentiallty isn't a word but it was on my worksheet.)

Thanks a lot, I pointed it out to him earlier today and he said "Oh, well"

Tell me if you think this sentence contains a linking verb.

Pasteur became a director for his research.

I thought it did because director is describing what Pasteur became. My teacher said it didn't but I beg to differ.