Sentence correction

Question

Is the following sentence correct? “It is better to avoid entering into that house alone”

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Delete the 'into', SS-- 'enter' means 'go into'.

S_s_sridhar · Answer

Thanks

S_s_sridhar · Answer

Could you correct the following also?

If you were me, you will also do the same

(I want to tell this in future tense only)

Mister Micawber · Answer

'If you were me, you would also do the same.' Very formally, you would replace 'me' with 'I'.

MountainHiker · Answer

Mister Micawber,

Very formally, you would replace 'me' with 'I'.

Can you please elaborate more on why that is the case. It doesn't seem natural to me, but then again, I might not be accustomed to the "very formal" approach.

Thank you Mister Micawber.

MountainHiker

Mister Micawber · Answer

Me too. The copulative requires the nominative case. Very formally, some texts insist on 'It is I', though we all say 'it's me'. Similarly, if I were writing a business letter or an academic paper, I would write, 'if you had been I, you would have shot the proctor too.' In theory. On second thought, I take it back-- I don't think I'd ever use it.

Notice that some writers overshoot the mark, and incorrectly use nominative case where objective is required: 'between you and I, the proctor was a bad egg anyway'. This is because there is a nagging urge somewhere in their grammatical gut that the nominative is needed here too. This may be a result of a stilted education rather than any residual syntax, however.

MountainHiker · Answer

Hi Mister Micawber,

I am usually pretty good at knowing whether to use "I" or "me." So I am surprised that it is, "If you were I..." is correct.

I went hunting on the 'net and found one grammar site that corrected from "I to me" and another that correct from "me to I."

I trust you are correct. It is just not the way I would ever say or write it.

Besides using an advanced grammar text, is there any way to know if the copulative requires the nominative or subjective case?

My fear with using the "correct formal answer" is that the reader might mistakenly believe I erred by not using "me" instead of "I." If you do the proverbial google search, the "If you were me..." is five times more popular than "If you were I..." Actually, it is a lot higher than five times because many of the "If you were I..." phrases look like the following:

"If you were, I would...."

That is a different context than what we are dealing with. So my guess is that it is a 10+X ratio. I am a big fan of using Google as a quick check, though I certainly recognize that it isn't infallible.

This is an interesting example.

MountainHiker

Mister Micawber · Answer

To know if anything is 'correct', what options do we have? (1) check a grammar book, (2) google or other statistical research, or (3) ask someone. I myself tend to walk the line between prescriptivism and descriptivism, relying more on either (1) or (2) to support whichever viewpoint suits my feeling on the matter.

In this case, (1) the grammar text offers me only marginal-- if any-- support ('extremely formal, or over-correct in BrE' vide Swan; 'hyper-correct' vide Greenbaum & Quirk; (2) google gives me the lie, and (3) is a stand-off, though the defense is weakened. If others will log in on this, I would be relieved to bow to the majority.

Still, I feel that the options should be on the table for the student.

MountainHiker · Answer

Mister Micawber,

Very formally, you would replace 'me' with 'I'.

I agree completely.

In a way, I can wrap my head around this.

1) I would wash my car.

2) If you were I, you would wash my car.

So I can see I=I, if you will.

By logical extension, is it, "If you were she, ...."

3) She should buy that house.

4) If you were she, you should buy that house? She/Her?

Am I correct?

My guess is that most people would trip on our sentences. They'd want to use the subjective case.

I am confident you are correct Mister Micawber; it is just not the way I would instinctively write or say it.

Again, interesting example. I am curious what others will have to say.

MountainHiker

Guest · Answer

1. what must a family do to adopt a child

2. read this book about adoption

3. what a huge number of laws there are

4. approval for adoption may take a year or more

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