Which pronoun is used here?

Question

Two plus one examples, and I hope one of those native speakers out there can clear it up (it's probably a matter of style?)
1. "Who's there?" "It is I/me."
2. "I'm not comfortable with you/your staying at home."

3. I explained the problem to her. /I explained her the problem.

Thank you a lot

Answer 1

1. The grammatically correct version is "It is I." However, over 50% of English speakers these days (including me) would say "It is me", or "It's me."

2. Again, the grammatically correct version is with the use of "your" because "staying" is a gerund, which is a verbal noun, and therefore should be qualified by an adjective - "your". Again - common usage is "...with you staying at home," and is perfectly acceptable in the 21st century.

3. No difficulty here - "I explained the problem to her" is the only option. I should know why, but can't think of a rational explanation. Sorry!

Answer 2

OK, so for number 3, "I explained the problem to her" is by far the most normal. Some speakers might say, "I explained her the problem", but if so, it's very rare.

That's the easy one.

For number 2, "I'm not comfortable with you staying at home" is rather more common, but "I'm ... with your staying at home" is also possible -- you find it most often in formal registers though.

I notice that everyone keeps saying "It is I" is more grammatically correct that "It's me". This is rubbish. This just happens to be the form that someone decided once was better, presumably because it seems closer to the pattern in Latin and Greek. Are you gonna tell the French they should be saying "C'est je"?

Basically, "it's me" is the idiomatic English form. "It is I" isn't incorrect, but you only encounter it in formal registers.

Answer 3

1. "Who's there?" "It is I" is grammatically correct, but tends to be out of fashion except among African and Caribbean speakers. The emphatic pronoun "me" is more likely to be heard and I always feel rather pedantic when I speak correctly in this way except when among other people who do so!

2. "I'm not comfortable with your staying at home" because it is not the person "you" with whom you are uncomfortable, but with the situation, i.e. of his/her staying at home.

3. I explained the problem to her. That is because in English we usually need a "to" or "for" to introduce an indirect object. That is not a hard and fast rule, however, because we do say things like "I gave her the book."

Answer 4

1. "It is I" is grammatically correct, but it is stuffy and British. Americans would say "It's me" with no problem whatsoever.

2. "I'm not comfortable with your staying at home."

3. "I explained the problem to her."

Answer 5

1. I
2. your
3.I explained the problem to her

Answer 6

1. i
2. your
3. i explained the problem to her