Which one is correct to say: "It's me" or "It's I"?

Question

I was taught at school that the following expression is not grammatically correct:

Who is there? It's me.

The correct one is:

Who is there? It's I.

Can you let me know which one is accurate?

Here is a good explanation about both forms.

Yeah you have a valid question. But you could circumvent this whole dilemna, by saying your name : D Who is there? Hazro City... — Arjun J Rao, Jan 30 '11 at 10:36
When I was little my mother took a pen to a children's book and replaced every instance of "it's me" with "it's I." That didn't stop me from using the former though in conversation. — , Jan 30 '11 at 18:55

score 31 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 30 '11 at 10:17

31

"It is ME" is not grammatically correct in the academic sense, but is used in spoken English.

"It is I" is grammatically correct in the pure sense, but would never be used in spoken English - or very rarely by people who speak in an ultra-formal dialect.

"It is I" would have been correct in Shakespeare's time, in spoken English, but not now.

answered Jan 30 '11 at 10:17

tegner

359

2

I think 'Shakespeare's time' is pushing it a bit. I would probably say late 19th/early 20th century in some circles. – Jan 30 '11 at 10:47
1

That's what I was taught...I want to know subtleties...why American use "Its Me" instead of "Its I"? – Muaz Khan Jan 30 '11 at 10:48
10

"It's I" is not standard in written English anymore either. – Kosmonaut Jan 31 '11 at 16:34
@Kosmonaut is right. "It is I" just sounds weird these days. – Noldorin Jan 31 '11 at 21:30
On the other hand: "Who is there?" "I am!" sounds perfectly normal to me. – RedGrittyBrick Feb 01 '11 at 00:07
7

@tegner: Please give evidence that "'it is I' is grammatically correct in the pure sense" and "'it is me' is not grammatically correct in the academic sense" — these two claims are not backed up by usage or convention. – Kosmonaut Feb 01 '11 at 14:29
1
Just to add to tegner's answer, there are two other errors in the examples: - It should be "it's", not "its", as you are using this as an abbreviation for "it is". ("Its" means "belonging to it" or "part of it", etc).
- "Me" is not capitalised (unless it's at the start of a sentence).
– Steve Melnikoff Jan 30 '11 at 11:58
1

I think "academic" is maybe not a good word to use. The people bandying about the notion that 'It is I' is "correct" are essentially twaddle-mongers, not academics. – Neil Coffey Jun 18 '11 at 14:02
@Neil Coffey It was I , actually used a lot prior to early 20s century. Technically "it was me" is correct only in some cases, but people tend to simplify rules, instead of realizing that it is a nominative case. Dictionaries always cite most of real usages. Some consider "It was I" archaic, but it is not incorrect. – Swift May 16 '17 at 07:08
@Muaz Khan You'd like book titled "Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English" by Patricia T. O'Conner – Swift May 16 '17 at 07:12
1

@Swift For what it's worth (though it doesn't actually matter to contemporary usage of course), when English actually had an overt case system, it apparently behaved more like modern German, i.e. the equivalent of "it is me" would generally have been "I am (it)". When that system broke down, both "It is me" and "It is I" came into use. Since then, grammarians have invented a preference for "It is me" based on the notion that one form is "nominative" and the other "accusative" in a language that no longer has an overt case system... – Neil Coffey May 17 '17 at 20:11
...So I don't know if you can really attribute that situation to a "simplification of rules" or that it makes much real sense to say that that grammarians' preference is "technically correct". – Neil Coffey May 17 '17 at 20:12
@Neil Coffey German? German is simple compared to Russian... which formally got 6 cases, but technically still got 16, because there are some special rules related to one of 16 cases, like numerative or locative one. And word morphing is more complex than in German. And what's interesting, those languages are behaving same, they would consider nominative case in this statement.. Этоя , почтальон Печкин. Not Это меня, почтальона Печкина. Latter is either silly or accusative\complaining, if one would look at semantics. – Swift May 18 '17 at 01:46
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@Swift I mention German because it has that particular cognate structure, though. Once you get into saying that Russian has 16 cases, then "technically" there's no "right" answer-- it just depends on how you arbitrarily choose to analyse things. Remember that calling a particular form e.g. a "nominative" isn't an objective, God-prescribed definition either, it's just an arbitrary label assigned to that form to suit a particular analysis...! – Neil Coffey May 19 '17 at 17:14
@Neil Coffey true, that helps to understand how cases work in language and draw out the rules.. instead of having chaotic "control" methods for each case. Or suddenly ending with widely used form that doesn't fit any rule. As in, if in Russian "reduced" rule set there is no locative case, instead it is randomly replaced by nominative, accusative and possessive, there are still words that have special, locative case. Extended set of rules encompasses that. The most chaotic are the numerative "substitutions" – Swift May 19 '17 at 22:32
This is a remarkably prescriptive tone for such a descriptive answer. That shoe doesn't fit. Perhaps in @tegner's circle of friends, "It is I" is strikingly unusual, but I hear it from time to time. – Jul 01 '19 at 12:58

score 20 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 09 '22 at 13:57

20

As reported from the NOAD:

me /mi/
pronoun [first person singular]

used by a speaker to refer to himself or herself as the object of a verb or preposition:

Do you understand me?
Wait for me!

used after the verb to be and after than or as:

Hi, it's me.
You have more than me.

informal to or for myself:

I've got me a job.

It's then correct to say it's me.

edited Jun 09 '22 at 13:57

Laurel

66,382

answered Jan 30 '11 at 18:11

apaderno

59,185

15

Well, NOAD (and dictionaries in general) report usage, not correctness. You would need to get a ruling from the Supreme Worldwide English Authority to know what is correct. – GEdgar Nov 25 '11 at 17:51
4

There isn't such authority for English, differently from other languages. For French there is the Académie française, and for Italian there is the Accademia della Crusca ("Academy of Chaff"). – apaderno Nov 25 '11 at 19:49
5

Usage determines correctness, both historically and today. – jnm2 Dec 12 '16 at 13:16
@towry See this comment from Kosmonaut, who is a linguist. – apaderno Sep 06 '17 at 10:24
See the book <<A Student's Introduction to English Grammar>>, Ch.1. – towry Sep 07 '17 at 00:26
@towry And what does that book say? Does it say that you should always say it's I? Apart that a book for students for introducing English grammar would probably not say everything about English grammar. You can make a quick check: Does it say that it's so do I or so I do? – apaderno Sep 07 '17 at 06:36
1

@jnm2 Whose usage? How much usage? – Edwin Ashworth Nov 12 '20 at 15:07

score 10 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 27 '11 at 06:53

The answer to the question 'Who's there?' is 'It's me.' 'It is I' would normally be heard only when something else follows it, and then only in rather formal contexts, as in 'It is I who have done all the work, so it is I who should get the compensation.'

score 5 · Answer 4 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38

This question is related to I can run faster than... In that exchange nohat describes the pronouns being used in the nominative and accusative cases. Modern English speakers have become more comfortable using the accusative case in comparisons even though traditionally comparisons have used the nominative case. It is further noted that "both forms are standard."

Modern English has slurred the distinction between cases, using word order to denote case rather than declension. We still use different words for most personal pronouns (he/him, I/me, we/us), but have lost it for you/you. "I talk to you." "You talk to me."

When asking "Who is there?" it would be correct to answer in the nominative case, "I am here." Likewise, asking "Who is it?" should elicit "It is I" or "I am it."

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 02 '11 at 02:25

2

"It is me," is more common, and correct. However, "It is I who am here," is also correct, and "who am here" can be left off and implied, making "It is I," also correct.

answered Sep 02 '11 at 02:25

xpda

1,696

2

Maybe good to note the change of person when using "me" (I think): "It is I who am responsible" but "It is me who is responsible" (the latter with "am" just sounds wrong). – Marc van Leeuwen Jun 12 '14 at 08:44
But your examples just show how grammatically incorrect "it is me" is. "I am responsible" is correct, but one would never say "me is responsible". – Dustin G Jul 03 '19 at 03:32
@Dustin G But language (even what is considered correct in grammar) is not unchangeable. NOAD gives the rules normally accepted (even by university dons) today. G Pullum has even written an article in which he ridicules "It is I". – Edwin Ashworth Dec 11 '22 at 19:43
"Who am responsible"?! No. Just no. "Who" is a third person singular. In the example above you are referring to yourself in third person. – gargoylebident Mar 04 '24 at 02:39

Greybeard · Answer 6 · 2022-06-09T21:03:47.503

The war and the battles for It is I as opposed to It is me, have been going on for a long time.

Old English did not use the object me after the verb to be. We said ic sylf hit eom (I self it am – it is myself), and Chaucer (who wrote in early Middle English) frequently writes "it am I", but never "it am me".

However, the Normans spoke a form of French and French is different and was an influence on English. French makes liberal use of the disjunctive form of the pronouns moi, toi, lui, eux, etc. after “to be” and other verbs that in Old English would have taken a nominative complement (I, thou, he, they). These were used in English as me, thee, him and them or as myself, thyself, himself and themselves.

In 1877, Ebenezer Cobham Brewer wrote in the entry on “me” in “Errors of Speech and of Spelling, Volume 1”

‘Me” is used after the verb To be, and after the words than, but, like, and as, with such pertinacity it is at least doubtful whether it is not correct. C’est moi is the French Idiom, not Cest je, and It is me is far more common than It is I.

So again, the French say il est plus riche que moi, -> “more rich than me,” or plus riche que je ne suis, -> “more rich than I am.”

Which is exactly the same as English.

Now it is important at this point to understand that “me” is not the accusative case, but the dative case. (Old English “me”)

Old English Singular. Nom. ic,

gen. min,

dative me,

accusative mec.

This is important as “Give it me!” = “Donnez-le moi! And “Give it to me!” = “Donnez-le moi! The indirect object (dative = me) becomes a prepositional phrase (to me) that is a complement.

These two points relate well to the use of “It is me” that developed in early modern English.

The disjunctive pronoun of French and the dative pronoun of English had a great overlap. They are both capable of being a complement.

It is also useful to look at the pronoun “myself” and consider if “It is me” and “it is myself” are equivalents.

At this point, it is helpful to have a look at the “official” French dictionary, Larousse: (My translation and with less relevant definitions omitted

Définitions

Moi

• Emphatic

• In apposition to I or me

• After a preposition,

• after “It is”

• In phrases, “How do you want us to march?” - “Me at the front and them at the rear.”

• as the complement of an imperative – Give it me

• After like and as: You think like me.

You will note the similarities.

Ebenezer Cobham Brewer continues and gives “errors” that everyone would consider normal:

Who shall decide when doctors disagree,

And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me. (Pope, 1688 –1744)

Yet oft in Holy Writ we see

E’en such weak ministers as me

May the oppression break (Sir Walter Scott, 1771 – 1832),

Who’s there? It is me.

You know it was not me who told him.

It is me that has been the ruin of you.

it is me that has brought you to this misery.

It is not me who will be a trouble to you.

It is me, your friend and master, who advises it.

And then adds that he does not object to the following:

You did not suspect it to be me. You did not know it was me.

That picture Is just like me (like to me -> dative).

He likes you better than me (than he likes me).

He likes you better than I (than I like you).

It Is I, be not afraid.

In the intervening 140 years, all of the above examples have become acceptable.

The war for “It is I” is lost. We must move on.

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 04 '18 at 19:34

1

While it is formally correct to say "It's I", while informal or popular usage allows "It's me", it would be incorrect to say "It's him and I" (as in the title of a currently popular song), which mixes objective and nominative cases; it could be either "It's he and I" or "It's him and me".

answered Jan 04 '18 at 19:34

Dustin G

89

1

Why is “It’s him and I” wrong? It’s inconsistent, but how do you know inconsistency is wrong? – herisson Jan 04 '18 at 19:43
This would make an excellent question. It is most definitely wrong, constituting a faulty parallel, but I'm hard-pressed to cite chapter and verse on it. – Jul 01 '19 at 13:01
'It's we' is pushing it. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 12 '20 at 15:10
@EdwinAshworth That would be "they are we". I can get used to "it is I" after reading the academic explanation and saying it a couple of times but the implications are disturbing. – Martin Maat Dec 11 '22 at 08:15
@Martin Maat 'It' for plural complements is recognised as standard, at least in conversational English, nowadays. 'It's the Simpsons' .... 'It is I' would be seen as at best quirky nowadays (though there may still be some ultra-traditionalists insisting it's the only correct form). If I remember correctly, 'It is I' was foisted on the language in homage to Latin grammar when 'It is me' was the existing correct form. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 11 '22 at 19:47

score -3 · Answer 8 · answered Aug 24 '13 at 19:01

An aside: when you knock at a door, and someone from inside asks "Who's there?", Don't answer "Me" or "It's me". Aside from being ungrammatical, it conveys no information (unless the other person knows your voice).

We need to make the distinction between written and spoken English, especially informal spoken English - as between friends. Almost everyone says things like "Me and my brother went to the beach", but you certainly wouldn't say that giving a speech in a public forum.

Here's a good exlanation of the "it's me/I" construction:

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/it-is-i-versus-it-is-me?page=all

"The traditional grammar rule states when a pronoun follows a linking verb, such as "is," the pronoun should be in the subject case. It’s also called the “nominative.”

"It's me" does convey information because when you say it, you are using your voice, and your voice often identifies you. As such, it's the most minimal way to respond without revealing any other information. — siride, Aug 25 '13 at 16:52
@siride: One could answer "Guess who!" to make the guessing game obvious. — Marc van Leeuwen, Jun 12 '14 at 08:46

score -3 · Answer 9 · answered Sep 27 '11 at 06:00

-3

It varies on context.

Who called Jodie? It was he.

Who told you about it? It was I.

Who had the phone conversation? It must have been they.

Who cares? It is we.

A more thorough explanation

answered Sep 27 '11 at 06:00

Jordaan Mylonas

1,619

Nobody talks like that anymore. "It must have been they" sounds ungrammatical to me. – siride Aug 25 '13 at 16:51
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@siride - It sounds ungrammatical because people have acquiesced to the usage of the incorrect version, so over time that's what sounds correct. For example, decades ago I started saying something like, "You did good", instead of the correct, "You did well", so as to not to sound too formal, but after a while it becomes natural to say it that way; but "You did good." actually has a different meaning, as in you did something good (for others). – Dustin G Jun 04 '20 at 12:39
@DustinG I've never had any confusion on the matter. Context has always made it clear. There's no Platonically correct form of the language. Whatever the current convention is is correct. That's it. That's the end of it. – siride Jun 04 '20 at 17:18
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@siride - Usually convention changes through ignorance, or expediency, so depending on how recent the change is, whether one wants to intentionally use something or not may depend how ignorant, or hip, they want to appear during the transitional period. "Good" as an adverb is still considered informal. It seems like you stated at the end "That's it. That's the end of it." to avoid the cliché and rather arrogant current use of "Period". (I intentionally use the British usage of quotation marks that do not include the period or comma if it is not part of the quote, as it makes more sense.) – Dustin G Jun 05 '20 at 19:09

Which one is correct to say: "It's me" or "It's I"?

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