[Grammar] It is not

[ucef]

Hello, is the following sentence correct?
It is not I who told him the story.

 

[milan2003_07]

Hello, is the following sentence correct?
It is not I who told him the story.

I'm not a teacher, but I'm a translator and a tour guide and therefore I have a very good command of English. Let me suggest the following version: "It is not me who told him the story"

Best

 

[Barb_D]

I wasn't the one who told him!

 

[TheParser]

Hello, is the following sentence correct?
It is not I who told him the story.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

************************


Ucef,


(1) You have asked a great question.

(2) According to the "rules," the "correct" English is:

It is not I who told him.

It is I, he, she, we, they.

(3) Today in modern American English, many (most?) people

refuse to follow the rule. I guess 95% of people say:

It is me.

(4) Many teachers say that the "rule" was based on Latin,

and English -- of course -- is not Latin. So most teachers say that

"It is me/ her/ him/ us/ them" is now correct English.

(5) If you say "It is I" or "It was he" or "It is we," people may think

two things:

(a) You want everyone else to know that you speak better English

than they do. In other words, you are a snob.

or

(b) You are speaking "bad" English (because most native speakers

probably think that "It is me" is "correct" English).

(6) When you speak, maybe it's a good idea to "break" the rule and

say "It is me"; when you write (especially university-level

writing), you might want to follow the "rule" and write "It is I."

THANK YOU


P. S. There are also social reasons for one's choice. A young man

may be afraid to say "It is I" because some people might say or

think that he is a "sissy."

 

[MrPedantic]

Hello, is the following sentence correct?
It is not I who told him the story.

I would tend towards a past tense, for the first verb, e.g.

1. It was not I who told him the story.
2. It wasn't me who told him the story.

(#1 would suit a formal and #2 a non-formal context.)

Best wishes,

MrP

 

[SoothingDave]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

************************


Ucef,


(1) You have asked a great question.

(2) According to the "rules," the "correct" English is:

It is not I who told him.

It is I, he, she, we, they.

(3) Today in modern American English, many (most?) people

refuse to follow the rule. I guess 95% of people say:

It is me.

(4) Many teachers say that the "rule" was based on Latin,

and English -- of course -- is not Latin. So most teachers say that

"It is me/ her/ him/ us/ them" is now correct English.

(5) If you say "It is I" or "It was he" or "It is we," people may think

two things:

(a) You want everyone else to know that you speak better English

than they do. In other words, you are a snob.

or

(b) You are speaking "bad" English (because most native speakers

probably think that "It is me" is "correct" English).

(6) When you speak, maybe it's a good idea to "break" the rule and

say "It is me"; when you write (especially university-level

writing), you might want to follow the "rule" and write "It is I."

THANK YOU


P. S. There are also social reasons for one's choice. A young man

may be afraid to say "It is I" because some people might say or

think that he is a "sissy."

Oh, woe is I! ;-)

Better in these cases to re-word the statement to avoid this dilemma.