In a specific construction of the sentence below, which one should be use: he or him?

Question

In a college exam reviewer, I encountered a sentence:

I suspect the murderer to be him.

I am confused about whether or not the objective him is the appropriate case to use there when it appears to be a subject complement (since it comes after the linking verb be. Shouldn't it be

I suspect the murderer to be he.?

I tried browsing the internet but failed to find an answer. Thank you in advance.

Possible duplicate of In search of a Grammar text, of any vintage, that covers such as the below. The traditional rule is to use "him" in this kind of sentence to match the (allegedly accusative, although invisible) case of "the murderer". — herisson, Aug 02 '19 at 04:03
Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. — tchrist, Aug 05 '19 at 00:49

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 02 '19 at 03:38

0

They both sound awkward to me. I'd personally rearrange it to

'I suspect he is the murderer'

or

'I suspect him to be the murderer'

answered Aug 02 '19 at 03:38

fifthviolet

151

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – tchrist Aug 05 '19 at 00:50

In a specific construction of the sentence below, which one should be use: he or him?

1 Answers1