Although most persons say
'It was me.' when speaking, the correct expression is 'It was I.' Where the
verb to be is accompanied by a personal pronoun
forming the object of a sentence or clause, the personal pronoun must be in its
subjective case. Subject personal pronouns include I, he, she, we,
they. Read more about pronouns here.
It is also important to
state that the verb to be (or the BE verb) has eight variants: be, am, is, are, was, were, being and been.
And where any of these variants is accompanied by a personal pronoun
forming the object of a sentence or clause, the subjective form of the personal
pronoun should be used. It is wrong to use an object pronoun in this regard.
Object personal pronouns include me, him, her, us, and
them.
Please, note that you and it are
personal pronouns which appear the same in both their subjective and objective
forms. Thus they can function as subjects and objects in sentences. Let's look
at some examples of the wrong and correct use of personal pronouns in relation to
our subject matter.
Wrong Usage
1. This is him (or her).
2. It was me.
3. I am him (or her).
4. The people you saw
were us.
5. Those are them.
Correct Usage
1. This is he (or she).
2. It was I.
3. I am he (or she).
4. The people you saw
were we.
5. Those are they.
However, this rule has
changed. It is not surprising because English, as a language, is dynamic. Most
English dictionaries now endorse the use of “It was me” only in an informal
setting or context, and the use of “It was I” only in a formal setting or
context. Therefore, you should feel free to use them accordingly.
Informal Usage
1. This is him (or her).
2. It was me.
3. I am him (or her).
4. The people you saw
were us.
5. Those are them.
Formal Usage
1. This is he (or she).
2. It was I.
3. I am he (or she).
4. The people you saw
were we.
5. Those are they.
NOTE: The fact that this rule
is often broken in conversation and in an informal setting is no excuse for
breaking it in writing unless dialogue is being quoted.
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