It's probably me, but ... I'm in a quandary.

A while ago CJ said, "As I say, it's probably me".

I know it's techically bad grammar, but it sounds right, darn it. It would sound terribly stilted to say, "It's probably I."

Or so it seems to me -- but then again, it's probably just me. How would others handle this?

If I recall, and I don't have one in front of me, "it's me" is becoming more acceptable in style manuals. It is not in our style manual, and I don't have another one here at work.

However, what sometimes confuses me is the "it is just I (or me)" or "it is probably I (or me)." In these cases, I confuse it with being similar to "it is between me and you." What parts of speech are "just" and "probably?"

>I know it's techically bad grammar

not really; it's idiomatic, and acceptable in all but the most formal circumstances.

quote:

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Originally posted by tsuwm:
not really; it's idiomatic, and acceptable in all but the most formal circumstances.

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Quite right. For example, if I were speaking to Britney Spears I might say "Maybe it's just me but I'd like to dip you naked into a tub of hot chocolate and then say to hell with my diet!" On the other hand, if I were addressing the Queen of England, the statement would of course begin with "Perhaps it is just I..."

You know CJ...sometimes you are one sick puppy.

Perhaps somebody should write a book full of examples of good and bad Englsih, illustrated with inappropriate examples.

You know, Graham, that isn't a bad idea at all. I can only think that kids would remember the grammar intricacies better if they had fun examples.

CJ, add this to your list of rewrites, after the OED is finished.

quote:

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Originally posted by BobHale:
You know CJ...sometimes you are one sick puppy.

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Not at all. In this country, making love to your monarch is pretty much the only way a guy could have sex with a queen and still maintain his heterosexuality. Seems like a worthy goal, no?

(Whispering) C.J., It's probably me but ... I suspect that the "sickness" that Bob commented on was the other part .... the chocolate-covered edible morsel.

By the way, has anyone thought of issuing a decree that says "me" is sometimes okay as the nominative form of the first-person pronoun, as in "It's me," and "I" is sometimes okay as the objective case, as in "He gave it to Shufitz and I" ?????????

Seems like such a decree is in order, and would help many users of our language to avoid anxiety and guilt.

..... or is it just me?

What are the rules for pronouns after 'than'? Is it 'than I' or 'than me'?

The rule of thumb I use is to simply complete the thought. If choosing between "He's a better speller than I" and "He's a better speller than me," I go with the first choice since the complete thought is "He is a better speller than I am."