Pedants' Paradise

[vinteuil]

The complement of the verb "to be" is nominative". And the nominative 1st person pronouns are "I" and "we".

In the world of Eine Alpensifonie, perhaps. But that does not provide 'authority': "it's me" is grammatically correct; "it is I" is the usage of foreigners and governesses.

To repeat the wiki quote - "In some languages, a personal pronoun has a form called a disjunctive pronoun, which is used when it stands on its own, or with only a copula, such as in answering to the question "Who wrote this page?" The natural answer for most English speakers in this context would be "me" (or "It's me"), parallel to moi (or C'est moi) in French. Unlike in French, however, where such constructions are considered standard, English pronouns used in this way have caused dispute. Some grammarians have argued and persuaded some educators that the correct answer should be "I" or "It is I" because "is" is a linking verb and "I" is a predicate nominative, and up until a few centuries ago spoken English used pronouns in the subjective case in such sentences. However, since English has lost noun inflection and now relies on word order, using the objective case me after the verb be like other verbs seems very natural to modern speakers. The phrase "It is I" historically came from the Middle English "It am I" and the change from "am" to "is" was also a step towards fixing the Subject Verb Object word order"."

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

In the world of Eine Alpensifonie, perhaps. But that does not provide 'authority'.

To repeat the wiki quote - "In some languages, a personal pronoun has a form called a disjunctive pronoun, which is used when it stands on its own, or with only a copula, such as in answering to the question "Who wrote this page?" The natural answer for most English speakers in this context would be "me" (or "It's me"), parallel to moi (or C'est moi) in French. Unlike in French, however, where such constructions are considered standard, English pronouns used in this way have caused dispute. Some grammarians have argued and persuaded some educators that the correct answer should be "I" or "It is I" because "is" is a linking verb and "I" is a predicate nominative, and up until a few centuries ago spoken English used pronouns in the subjective case in such sentences. However, since English has lost noun inflection and now relies on word order, using the objective case me after the verb be like other verbs seems very natural to modern speakers. The phrase "It is I" historically came from the Middle English "It am I" and the change from "am" to "is" was also a step towards fixing the Subject Verb Object word order"."

The verb "to be" is interesting in that it is irregular in just about every language. In cerstin dialects you will hear people say "I are", which can be a shock to the system, but "aren't I" is univerally accepted.

Esperanto gets round it by having all verbs 100% regular (including the verb "to be"):

mi estas
ti estas
li estas, etc...

[gurnemanz]

In the world of Eine Alpensifonie, perhaps. But that does not provide 'authority': "it's me" is grammatically correct; "it is I" is the usage of foreigners and governesses.

To repeat the wiki quote - "In some languages, a personal pronoun has a form called a disjunctive pronoun, which is used when it stands on its own, or with only a copula, such as in answering to the question "Who wrote this page?" The natural answer for most English speakers in this context would be "me" (or "It's me"), parallel to moi (or C'est moi) in French. Unlike in French, however, where such constructions are considered standard, English pronouns used in this way have caused dispute. Some grammarians have argued and persuaded some educators that the correct answer should be "I" or "It is I" because "is" is a linking verb and "I" is a predicate nominative, and up until a few centuries ago spoken English used pronouns in the subjective case in such sentences. However, since English has lost noun inflection and now relies on word order, using the objective case me after the verb be like other verbs seems very natural to modern speakers. The phrase "It is I" historically came from the Middle English "It am I" and the change from "am" to "is" was also a step towards fixing the Subject Verb Object word order"."

Some users of English who have half-understood all this then go on to over-correct. A question like: "Who did they choose?" might receive the reply "My wife and I".

[Serial_Apologist]

A quote from today's Streatham Guardian:

"Hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money is being wasted on mobile phones for council employees, it has been claimed".

Shouldn't this read, "Hundreds and thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money are being wasted ..."?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

At the Pearly Gates, St Peter stands, welcoming the deceased.

St P.:- Whose there?
No. 1:- I'm Jim. I've been to church every Sunday since I was a boy, worked for Amnesty International, never read The News of the World...
St P:- Fine, fine. Off you go to Heaven. Who's next?
No. 2:- I'm Meg. I'm an atheist, worked as a prostitute, organised cock-fights, voted for the BNP...
St. P:- That's enough. I don't want to hear any more. Off you go to Hell. Who's next?
No. 3:- It is I.
St.P:- Oh no! Not another b****y teacher!

[scottycelt]

[french frank]

Some users of English who have half-understood all this then go on to over-correct. A question like: "Who did they choose?" might receive the reply "My wife and I".

Thus: And whom, may one enquire, did the choosing?

[scottycelt]

A quote from today's Streatham Guardian:

"Hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money is being wasted on mobile phones for council employees, it has been claimed".

Shouldn't this read, "Hundreds and thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money are being wasted ..."?

No, it's all got to do with the historical devaluation of the pound in our rotten capitalist system, S_A ...

[LeMartinPecheur]

"Hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money is being wasted on mobile phones for council employees, it has been claimed".

Shouldn't this read, "Hundreds and thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money are being wasted ..."?

"Hundreds of thousands of pounds" ARE certainly a lot of money!

[Flosshilde]

Quite - money is being wasted, pounds are being wasted.

[mangerton]

The verb "to be" is interesting in that it is irregular in just about every language. In cerstin dialects you will hear people say "I are", which can be a shock to the system, but "aren't I" is univerally accepted.

This is true, but Scots in speech usually use "amn't I".

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Quite - money is being wasted, pounds are being wasted.

Or "hundreds of pounds are being wasted", but "hundreds of poundsworth is being wasted".

[Pabmusic]

The verb "to be" is interesting in that it is irregular in just about every language. In cerstin dialects you will hear people say "I are", which can be a shock to the system, but "aren't I" is univerally accepted.

This is true, but Scots in speech usually use "amn't I".

Here's Michael Quinion with an interesting article (well, I think so) about just this point. He says that aren't I arose quite recently from a variant pronunciaton of an't I or ain't I, which were themselves variants of amn't I:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-amn1.htm

[Pabmusic]

As I typed my previous post, this sonnet of Thomas Hardy came to mind:

The Pity Of It

I walked in loamy Wessex lanes, afar

From rail-track and from highway, and I heard

In field and farmstead many an ancient word

Of local lineage like 'Thu bist,' 'Er war,'

'Ich woll,' 'Er sholl,' and by-talk similar,

Nigh as they speak who in this month's moon gird

At England's very loins, thereunto spurred

By gangs whose glory threats and slaughters are. 



Then seemed a Heart crying: 'Whosoever they be

At root and bottom of this, who flung this flame

Between kin folk kin tongued even as are we,

Sinister, ugly, lurid, be their fame;

May their familiars grow to shun their name,

And their brood perish everlastingly.

August 1914

I doubt you'll hear 'thu bist' or 'ich woll' now, but it's interesting that you could do so a century ago.

[scottycelt]

This is true, but Scots in speech usually use "amn't I".

Correct ... and when I moved to England 'aren't I?' sounded decidedly odd and grammatically illogical. I still maintain that, One would not say 'are I not?', now, would one? ..