Does "there was him" make sense? If it does, what possible instance can this be used?

[kenji]

Does "there was him" make sense? If it does, what possible instance can this be used?

"There was he" is pretty clear...but I am not quite sure if there are instances where "there was him" can possibly be used.

 

[5jj]

Re: Does "there was him" make sense? If it does, what possible instance can this be u

I can't think of natural contexts for either at the moment.

 

[Barb_D]

Re: Does "there was him" make sense? If it does, what possible instance can this be u

A: I always seem to date such short guys!
B: Really?
A: Yeah, there was Pete, who was like 5'5". There was Jon, who was maybe 5'8". There was Greg, who was no more than 5'6"
B: But there was Allen, too. He was 6'6"!
A: Oh yeah. I forgot. There was him.

A VERY informal conversation, teetering on the brink of grammaticality, but natural, perhaps?

 

[5jj]

Re: Does "there was him" make sense? If it does, what possible instance can this be u

...
A: Oh yeah. I forgot. There was him.

A VERY informal conversation, teetering on the brink of grammaticality, but natural, perhaps?

Yes.

I see that COCA gives only five citations for 'there was he/him' - and yours sounds more natural than the COCA ones.

 

[kenji]

Re: Does "there was him" make sense? If it does, what possible instance can this be u

A: I always seem to date such short guys!
B: Really?
A: Yeah, there was Pete, who was like 5'5". There was Jon, who was maybe 5'8". There was Greg, who was no more than 5'6"
B: But there was Allen, too. He was 6'6"!
A: Oh yeah. I forgot. There was him.

A VERY informal conversation, teetering on the brink of grammaticality, but natural, perhaps?

-

I think the subjective case rightfully follows the verb when "there" is used to introduce the subject.

May I know your take on this?

B: But there was Allen, too. He was 6'6"!
A: Oh yeah. I forgot. There was he!

Hmmm. I am not a native of the language, I may not be able to understand when you say it sounds natural. :-( sorry.
Thanks!

 

[5jj]

Re: Does "there was him" make sense? If it does, what possible instance can this be u

A: Oh yeah. I forgot. There was he!

That sounds very unnatural.
The 'rule' about subject forms after BE was never one that was observed by more than a minority of native speakers. It always sounded affected to most people.