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Apparently the correct statement is "That is I." (Just checked w/ my English teacher aunt.) "That is me" is idiomatic English which, she said, many people use, especially when speaking. However it's from a Latin rule which written English should follow: a pronoun in the nominative case--what we now refer to as a "subject pronoun"--must follow a form of to be, e.g. It/that/this is I, he, she, we, they.
Actually, by saying "THAT", "me" is correct since "that" is the subject. "I" becomes the object; whereas, "It is I" is correct.
No, you're incorrect here.
"Is" is a copulative verb. "That" is the subject of the verb, but the copulative verb doesn't have an object.
In the example you cite, "I" is the predicate nominative of the sentence. A predicate nominative should be in the nominative case. Nevertheless, for many years, if not decades, "me" would be an acceptable use in this sentence, just not for the reason you state.
I think the problem starts long before kids get into Kindergarten. The quality of the raw material the schools are getting these days is lower than ever. It used to be that parents modeled literary interest to their children in the crib and primed their kids to be successful in school. Many parents do not read to their children at bedtime anymore. Many parents no longer impress the value of books on their children by giving them books as birthday or Christmas gifts. One result is that students today have little experience with longer text types. Text type describes how long and complex a given utterance or written communication is. It generally progresses as follows:
1. individual words
2. short lists of words
3. proto-sentences
4. complete simple sentences
5. compound and complex sentences
6. strings of sentences
7. complete paragraphs
8. extended discourse
Due to the brevity of digital messaging, communicative tasks for many of those born after the 1970's simply don't require a complexity of text type beyond #4 and so they never really develop proficiency in more sophisticated writing. In composition classes, many students have problems getting from #6 to #7. The difference, of course, is structure. A paragraph contains strings of sentences, but it is structured in a way that produces a cohesive unit of thematic communication. Learning to write good paragraphs is where much is learned in the way of writing mechanics. If strings of sentences is your ceiling of text-type development, proper writing conventions probably don't seem all that important.
just venting now.. you see posts here on the forum.. where the write has enough understanding of writing and typing and internet savvy.. that he knows how to use bold and underline.. on every other danged word in his run-on sentences with no punctuation except.. two dots followed by a space every.. so often for what reason im not even sure.. since they are.. put in places where you wouldnt even.. take a breath if you were speaking it.. out loud.. and they know how to click the enter key and they know how to do this that and the other thing.. so then.. how to put it.. oh yeah they ask a question and i have to ask you all do you understand.. what that means.. to ask a question without a question mark.. do you know.. tell me please because i can barely keep up with my own wall of.. text.. which i see constantly on this very forum but thankfully.. not in this category..
I am a sentence. I begin with a capital letter, and end with a punctuation mark. On occasion, you will find me to be long-winded, though still functional. During these times I am known as a complex sentence. On the other hand, which is the big hand, with long fingers and a wide thumb, the fingernails cracked and deeply ridged while the heels and fingertips badly callused and coloring nearly exactly the same hue as the mauve wallpaper on my mother's kitchen wall, except for the spot where she blew the roast up one rainy evening and it crashed through the window and tore some of the wallpaper with it; of course the window was replaced, however the pale, stale yellow wallboard remains, waiting like an old worn out lady of the evening for a cotton ball and some eye makeup remover, this is a run-on sentence.
Lastly, I wish to remind all you gentle people that sentences commonly contain verbs. Literary license aside, all sentences begin with a capital letter, end in a punctuation mark, and contain at least one verb.
Have a lovely evening.
Last edited by AnonChick; 06-06-2010 at 02:54 PM..
Reason: I didn't realize that the slang for lady of the evening was taboo, heh.
I wish to remind all you gentle people that sentences commonly contain verbs. Literary license aside, all sentences begin with a capital letter, end in a punctuation mark, and contain at least one verb.
Imagine if these rules were strictly enforced here on C-D.
What's next? Civil discourse? Rational debate? It'll be the end of civilization, I tell you!
I just read in the newspaper, "was it her....." instead of "was it she?" I suppose they don't edit columns anymore since it's become more common to say it this way. My middle school English teacher would role over in her grave.
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