Whenever my mom (her name is Anu) picks up the phone and the caller asks for Anu, my mom always says, "This is she."
I think it would be correct to say, "This is her."
Which one of these is right? Are there any other better ways to say it besides these?
2007-01-15 05:26:01 · 10 answers · asked by SG 5 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
"This is she" is correct.
"She" is another word for "this", the subject of the sentence. In this way, you can check for agreement by switching the two words and seeing if it sounds right:
Would you say "her is this" or "she is this"?
Some people say, "she's speaking" or "speaking", but "this is she" really does sound nice and is perfectly correct.
2007-01-15 05:38:33 · answer #1 · answered by oenophiliac 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
"This is she" doesn't sound right to me. If it was, then you could say something "that's she over there". In both cases "her" sounds better. The posting above is wrong. It's like this, you can say "I am me", but you wouldn't say "me is I". "I' is the subject, "me" is the object. Obviously they're both "you", but the form changes. It's the same with "she" and "her".
There are many ways to identify yourself on the phone, you can say "Yes, that's me", or "You're speaking with her".
Probably the best thing is to pick up the phone and say "Hello, this is Anu." The advantage here is that if the caller doesn't know how to pronounce the name, they will find out.
2007-01-15 05:51:12 · answer #2 · answered by the universe 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The verb "to be" does not take a direct object but a complement. The complement is always the same case as the subject so the correct form is:
This is she.
It is I.
That is he.
That being said, idiomatic use has seen "It's me" and similar expressions around for a long time.
R H Barham wrote The Jackdaw of Rheims in the early 19th century:
His feathers all seem'd to be turned the wrong way;-
His pinions droop'd - he could hardly stand,-
His head was as bald as the palm of your hand;
His eye so dim, So wasted each limb,
That, heedless of grammar, they all cried, "That's him!"
So, if you want to be grammatically correct, say "This is she" and "It is I", but if you choose to say "This is her" or "It is me" then you have the support of at least two hundred years of idiomatic usage.
2007-01-15 07:46:00 · answer #3 · answered by tentofield 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They're both 'formal' English! However, "This is she" is a better way of saying it's her rather than, "This is her!" English is confuzzling!
2007-01-15 05:33:14 · answer #4 · answered by ×ithurtsogoodØ 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is she is correct but the informal this is her is acceptable
2007-01-15 05:38:00 · answer #5 · answered by Next evolutionary step... 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I avoid the problem and just say "This is." Some people say "Speaking."
2007-01-15 05:36:32 · answer #6 · answered by kris 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would answer by saying "Bingo" but either way is correct.
2007-01-15 05:34:41 · answer #7 · answered by Trevor T 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
"This is she" is the correct way.
2007-01-15 05:33:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
she should say its me
2007-01-15 05:30:14 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
"This is she" is proper grammatically.
2007-01-15 05:33:39 · answer #10 · answered by M 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋