Clive wrote:

Hi, So, if the sentence 'The meaning of my life is she' were 'The meaning of my life is her' instead, does it sound natural to you? If not, why not? No, it sounds a bit unnatural. 'The meaning of my life is Mary' sounds a little better. On the other hand, 'My problem is not you, it's her' sounds OK. It's hard sometimes to explain why something sounds odd. I think one reason is that the high importance of what is being said, my statement about the meaning of my life, contrasts oddly with the use of the modest, humble little pronoun. It's like 'She's the most important aspect of my life but I won't bother to say her name'. The whole choice of words seems a little unnatural to me. I'd be inclined to use the verb 'mean' in an active way, to give more life to what I'm saying. I'd also show that I have other meanings in my life by using a superlative. eg Mary means more to me than anything else in my life. Clive

In general spoken English, it is acceptable to use "me" (the objective form of the pronoun) after a linking verb for the FIRST PERSON only. You often hear, "It's me."

However, in teaching and among the educated, the nominative still prevails after the linking verb: This is he. This is she. It is they (the educated) who call the shots.

Ikia

Western NY, USA

Anonymous wrote:

Hi folks. Google brought up this forum when I did a search on "this is he" "this is him", so I thought I'd try to help. I can tell you that (at least from my own experience) it is quite common for people in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic U.S. to answer the phone with a "this is he/she." I personally have never liked the sound of this, but it is correct. "This is him" is definitely wrong. (I'm American, grew up in Pennsylvania, and have lived most of my adult life in Boston and D.C.) In case you're interested: A Frequently Asked Question about linking verbs concerns the correct response when you pick up the phone and someone asks for you. One correct response would be "This is he [she]." The predicate following the linking verb should be in the nominative (subject) form — definitely not "This is him." If "This is he" sounds stuffy to you, try using "Speaking," instead, or "This is Fred," substituting your own name for Fred's — unless it's a bill collector or telemarketer calling, in which case "This is Fred" is a good response for everyone except people named Fred. (from http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm).