Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
"My dear friend! that is I" ....
Hi,
I'm reading a book and I found this sentence -> "My dear friend! that is I" and I would know if it is incorrect or not. But to understand well, here is the citation:
Mon. Detinan had never enjoyed the pleasure of meeting Arsène Lupin but he had actually been retained by that mysterious gentleman and felt greatly honored by the choice. He was pleased to exhibit the letter of Mon. Bessy, but, although it proved the transfer of the ticket, it did not mention the name of the purchaser. It was simply addressed to "My Dear Friend."
- "My Dear Friend! that is I," added Arsène Lupin, in a note attached to Mon. Bessy's letter. "And the best proof of that fact is that I hold the letter."
I guess that saying "that is I " is incorrect. Shouldn't Lupin have said "that is ME"?
I'm reading a book and I found this sentence -> "My dear friend! that is I" and I would know if it is incorrect or not. But to understand well, here is the citation:
Mon. Detinan had never enjoyed the pleasure of meeting Arsène Lupin but he had actually been retained by that mysterious gentleman and felt greatly honored by the choice. He was pleased to exhibit the letter of Mon. Bessy, but, although it proved the transfer of the ticket, it did not mention the name of the purchaser. It was simply addressed to "My Dear Friend."
- "My Dear Friend! that is I," added Arsène Lupin, in a note attached to Mon. Bessy's letter. "And the best proof of that fact is that I hold the letter."
I guess that saying "that is I " is incorrect. Shouldn't Lupin have said "that is ME"?
Top answer
Traditionally, I was considered to be the correct pronoun, and me was considered to be wrong. However, almost everyone now says me, so few people now try to insist on I .
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Traditionally, I was considered to be the correct pronoun, and me was considered to be wrong. However, almost everyone now says me, so few people now try to insist on I.
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That's interesting. This book I'm reading is written in 1910, so maybe, in that time, I was considered to be the correct pronoun like you said.
So, in 2014, it is correct to say "that is ME", right?
So, in 2014, it is correct to say "that is ME", right?
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This is the kind of thing that causes fist-fights between grammarians 
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I is technically correct. That's the rule.
.I is technically correct. That's the rule.
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