Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: "It was her"

Che differenza c'è tra "It was her." e "It was she."?
In un telefilm un personaggio, dopo aver parlato al telefono con una
ragazza, dice "It was her.". Poi, di fronte alla reazione della moglie
gelosa, si corregge: "It was she.".

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OK...I think this is similar to the comma/no comma debate.  I say "it
was her", but I have been corrected several times by our English
teachers (a couple of them from Ivy League universities).  I actually
think "it was she" is the correct form, but it sounds so affected that
I'd rather use the object pronouns.
Here is a joke.  I think I posted it before:
At the Pearly Gates
A soul is knocking...knock...knock
St. Peter:  Who is it?
Soul:  It is I
St Peter: Go to hell.  We already have enough English teachers in here!
ari

 I'd rather use the object pronouns.
Ma, se fosse una questione di correttezza formale, perché dovrebbe
rassicurare una moglie gelosa?
-- 
Enrico C
nuovo indirizzo email: 
http://snipurl.com/MyEmailAddress

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If you want to be a stickler about it, it depends on what you mean to say.
'Who was it who led the way to victory, he or she? It was she.'
'Was it him or her whom you saw with the wrench in the bedroom? It was her.'
However, in day to day speech we allow ourselves some disgression to be a 
little sloppy on this point. 

 rassicurare una moglie gelosa?
Mah!  Che cosa ti fa pensare che la correzione sia una questione di
gelosia?  Se lo e', allora non posso rispondere alla tua domanda.
Sorry!
Ari

Enrico C ha scritto:

Quisquilie. L'importante è dire sempre "It wasn't me". ;)))
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/shaggy/itwasntme.html
-- 
Bye, Lem
Ceterum censeo ISLAM esse delendum
__________________________________
Combatti l'AIDS col tuo computer: 
http://fightaidsathome.scripps.edu/

 gelosia?  Se lo e', allora non posso rispondere alla tua domanda.
Forse la costruzione piů colloquiale, con "her", indica una maggiore
confidenza e per questo il marito si č corretto usando la costruzione piů
formale, con "she". 

 rassicurare una moglie gelosa?
Forse la moglie è insegnante di inglese :) 

 Forse la moglie è insegnante di inglese :)
Nope!, la moglie è una housewife nonché strega. :-)

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O forse no. Ho riascoltato con piů attenzione quel brano.
Darrin parla al telefono, poi riattacca e dice: "It was her.".
Sam, la moglie, chiede con tono sorpreso: "Her?"
Darrin si corregge: "Sorry, she.", come se lo stupore della moglie si
riferisse alla forma della frase e non al fatto che al telefono fosse la
ragazza di cui era gelosa.

 la ragazza di cui era gelosa.
Non è che magari lei non sa a quale lei lui si riferisca e per quello le 
chiede "her?" e lui invece, pensando che lei gli sta correggendo la 
forma si corregge in "she"?
-- 
Laz - [ 
http://www.dimensionedelta.net
 ]
[ 
http://www.josswhedon.it
 | 
http://www.miltoncaniff.net
 ]
"And nobody / In all of Oz / No wizard that there is or was / Is ever 
gonna bring me down!" 

 forma si corregge in "she"?
Sì, può darsi. Comunque Darrin interpreta la reazione della moglie come
stupore per la sua espressione un po' colloquiale, e riformula in punta di
forchetta, a quanto ho capito. :-)
-- 


In the US, it is not "un po' colloquiale",  but the most common form in
speech. Even in writing, in short phrases such as "It's me", "It's him", the
"incorrect" form predominates.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/fashion/sundaystyles/24LOVE.html?ei=5090&en=74b58906f735e683&ex=1279857600&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
In longer sentences, such as "It was she who impressed him more than any of
the others", the "correct" form predominates.
Rules are compiled by observing the language. Sometimes as the living
language changes, the rules don't seem to apply. Is it the rules which are
out of sync, or the living language?
Joe from Massachusetts
Joe from Massachusetts

 wrote in message
news:uOJsh.65472$kn7....@newsfe23.lga...
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We use the "incorrect" forms because they sound better to us.
I would cringe if in answer to the question "Who was it?" I received the
answer "It was we" or "It was they".
Joe from Massachusetts

 Joe from Massachusetts
Just fancy that I was sure the correct form was "It's me". The subject is 
"it" so I thought the object pronoun was compulsory here.

 wrote in message
news:IYOsh.2374$422....@twister2.libero.it...
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«It's me!
In very short answers like this, we usually prefer the object form»
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv264.shtml
«Fowler says:  "me is technically wrong in "It wasn't me"  etc.;
but the phrase being of its very nature colloquial, such a lapse is
of no importance".»
http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxitsmev.html
Joe from Massachusetts

 wrote in message
news:tkUsh.14385$m81....@newsfe22.lga...
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«To the extent that there is such a thing as correct English usage, "it
isn't me" and "it wasn't them" is part of it, and "it isn't I" and "it
wasn't they" verges on the pedantic. God, of course, uses the English of the
King James Bible, but that's His business.»
http://www.btinternet.com/~akme/ryan3.html

 wrote in message
news:IYOsh.2374$422....@twister2.libero.it...
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The verb "to be" is intransitive.
Joe from Massachusetts