which is correct?

Question

My fifth-grade teacher was she.
My fifth grade teacher was her.
The winner of the contest was her.
The winner of the contest was she.
Thanks!

Answer 1

The grammatically correct answers, for your homework, are the sentences 'My fifth-grade teacher was she." and "The winner of the contest was she."

This is because English grammar requires the nominative form of the pronoun following the verb 'to be' : I, you, he, she, it, we, they.

The nominative form is also called the subject pronoun, as noted by JFAD, above.

'Was' is the past tense of the verb 'to be', so 'She' is the correct pronoun.

Nearly everyone finds this rule difficult to follow. Even if everyone could follow it, informally it sounds pedantic. Who would ever say "It is we?"

But although constructions like "It is me" are not acceptable in formal writing, they have been used for so long they are becoming part of the vernancular. And this is what is causing the confusion in the answers; people often use grammar differently than the formal rules would allow.

This is how language changes. But the changes are not enough, yet, to convince your teacher that "her" is right. So choose "she" when you hand in your homework.

Answer 2

The way I was taught was to say it backwards to see which is right. She was my fifth-grade teacher. She was the winner of the contest. Hope that helps.

Answer 3

My fifth grade teacher was she.
The winner of the contest was she.

These sentences are quite similar. In both cases, "she" is the predicate nominative, thus placing it in nominative case. Therefore, "she" is correct.

Answer 4

Your fifth-grade teacher won both contests? She's pretty good.

Answer 5

My fifth-grade teacher was she.
The winner of the contest was her.

Answer 6

SHE.
After the Linking Verb "be" use a Subject Pronoun instead of the Object Pronoun "her."

A Linking verb is a verb that links a subject to words that name or describe it. Examples:

These boys are roommates.
are links "boys" to "roommates"

The cat became restless.

became links "cat" to "restless"

This feels like a dream.

feels links "this" to "like a dream"

The most common linking verbs are be, become, seem, appear, look, and feel.
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Subject Pronoun, a Pronoun acting as the subject of an independent clause:

We liked all the presents that our aunt brought.

we = subject of the clause "we liked all the presents"

(Here, we is also the subject of the sentence.)

OR

the subject of a dependent clause

The smell made us suspect that something was burning.

something = subject of the clause "that something was burning"

Whoever finds the necklace can keep it.

whoever = subject of the clause "whoever finds the necklace"

Answer 7

Both will be she

Answer 8

they are both her

Answer 9

She and her