English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
- The subjective forms of the personal pronouns should be used after linking verbs (such as: is, are, am, seems).
It was ~him~ (nonstandard).
It was he (standard).
Note that the full realisation of the sentence would be: It was he who… (did something). However, the nonstandard is expression is often used in informal contexts. - Some expressions can take double interpretation and that determines the choice of personal pronoun to use. Example:
He likes her more than __ (I me).
He likes her more than I would mean: He likes her, I like her too but he likes her more than I like her.
He likes her more than me would mean: He likes her, he likes me too but he likes her more than he likes me.
Dr GAB
