"I want to be her." vs. "I want to be she."

[nq:1]Which of these is correct, and why? I am a native English speaker, so I don't need to be told that the first is idiomatic.[/nq]
The first is idiomatic.

Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL

[nq:1]Which of these is correct, and why? I am a native English speaker, so I don't need to be told that the first is idiomatic. Thanks, Jonathan Jones[/nq]
In the first sentence, her* is the objective pronoun, and is grammatical. *She is a subjective pronoun, and is not interchangeable with the former. You would not say "Her slapped me!" and expect to be taken as functionally literate.

[nq:2]Which of these is correct, and why? I am a ... be told that the first is idiomatic. Thanks, Jonathan Jones[/nq]
[nq:1]In the first sentence, her* is the objective pronoun, and is grammatical. *She is a subjective pronoun, and is not interchangeable with the former. You would not say "Her slapped me!" and expect to be taken as functionally literate.[/nq]
But why would you use a

[nq:2]In the first sentence, her is the objective pronoun, and ... slapped me!" and expect to be taken as functionally literate.[/nq]
[nq:1]But why would you use an objective pronoun after a linking verb (to be)? You don't, for example, in the sentence "It is I".[/nq]
Good observation. Please note Tony Cooper's comment. "To be her" is idiomatic. "She wants to be me" would also be id

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[nq:1]Which of these is correct, and why? I am a native English speaker, so I don't need to be told that the first is idiomatic. Thanks, Jonathan Jones[/nq]
I want to be her.
*I want to be she.
The verb in this sentence is "want." "To be her" is a phrase functioning as the object. Within this phrase, the infinitive form "to be" acts like a preposition, I

[nq:1] "I want to be her" is not idiomatic; it is grammatical.[/nq]
It is both idiomatic AND grammatical, as most utterances by native speakers are.

[nq:2] "I want to be her" is not idiomatic; it is grammatical.[/nq]
[nq:1]It is both idiomatic AND grammatical, as most utterances by native speakers are.[/nq]
You've got to be kidding. The verb to be does not take a direct object. Nor is it a preposition. Consider yourself laughed off the group.

Bwa ha ha
Gary Eickmeier

[nq:1]You've got to be kidding. The verb to be does not take a direct object. Nor is it a preposition. Consider yourself laughed off the group. Bwa ha ha[/nq]
Nurse will hear your peculiar laughter and bring you your meds immediately.

"Her" is the modern post-verbal form of the preposition. It is idiomatic and grammatical. If you think it's not, you've missed the train.

In ye

[nq:1]Nurse will hear your peculiar laughter and bring you your meds immediately. "Her" is the modern post-verbal form of the preposition. It is idiomatic and grammatical. If you think it's not, you've missed the train.[/nq]
"Her" is a preposition? I think I would like to miss that train.
[nq:1]In years past, "she" was used as the predicate pronoun form with copulate verbs, but that has ce

[nq:2]Which of these is correct, and why? I am a ... be told that the first is idiomatic. Thanks, Jonathan Jones[/nq]
[nq:1]I want to be her. *I want to be she. The verb in this sentence is "want." "To be her" ... phrase, the infinitive form "to be" acts like a preposition, I think. Anyway, infinitive forms are followed by objective case.[/nq]
Only when the verb involved takes a direct obj