It's them

Kooyeen(Doorbell ringing)

• Who's it? ...Open the door, it's me!
• Who's it? ...Open the door, it's us!
• Who could it be? Maybe it's them. / It must be them.

I know I can say "it's me" and "it's us", but what about "It's them" and "It must be them"? Are the above structures possible?

Thank you.

Not outsi

Kooyeen(Doorbell ringing)

• Who's it? ...Open the door, it's me!
  
• Who's it? ...Open the door, it's us!
  
• Who could it be? Maybe it's them. / It must be them.


I know I can say "it's me" and "it's us", but what about "It's them" and "It must be them"? Are the above structures possible?

Thank you.

"It's them" is

It's me. I am alone outside your door.

It's us. There is more than one person outside the door.

It's them. It is the people I am expecting.

They may not be 100% gramatical but they are the things that people say all the time. You'd sound a complete idiot grandly pronouncing 'It is I'.

Thanks you all!!!

Nona The BritThey may not be 100% gramatical but they are the things that people say all the time. You'd sound a complete idiot grandly pronouncing 'It is I'.

That's what I wanted somebody to say. Although you are a British English native speaker, I believe American English is the same in this case. I know "It is I" is grammatically c

The noun after the verb is to be in nominative case and not in accusative.
Nothwithstanding, in speech everybody puts the noun in accusative. (demise of the language)

The noun after the verb is to be in nominative case and not in accusative.

I think you mean this to be true in the case of a pronoun after a linking verb only. Taking your "rule" literally, we must have

They invited we.

because the pronoun is after the verb, the conditions under which you say the pronoun must be nominative.

Hi CJ

The reason some 'Latinists' may object to it's me is the fact that the verb to be is intransitive and thus can't take an object. Me, however, is generally known as the object form of I. They invited we is a different matter because invite is a transitive verb and can take an object. Don't get me wrong, though, I am all for it's me!

IMO

He is as old as we = he is as old as we are old. (thus we is the subject of "as clause", as is a conj.)

MapleIMO

He is as old as we = he is as old as we are old. (thus we is the subject of "as

I'm inclined to agree with Maple that the implication is that the pronoun after as old as stands for a subject of an unstated clause. Perhaps the "rule" I made up earlier should be extended to cases where the "finite clause" can be merely implied, i.e., need not be stated fully.