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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Subject or object?
Hi. Okay, I know that the nominative case (I hope that that's the right word) is typically used when the verb is "be" ("It is I" and stuff like that). But what if, for instance, you're saying that you want to be someone for Halloween? "I'm going to be her/she for Halloween." By the way, I'm totally thinking about chocolate now after writing "her/she", haha. If I had to guess, I'd reluctantly go with "her" despite the verb's being "be". Seems to make more sense, but I'm not sure. What's correct?
Top answer
The object of an infinitive takes the objective case. You are going to be her . I want to thank him .
- The object of an infinitive takes the objective case.
- You are going to be her .
- I want to thank him .
- The nominative case is used with copulative verbs, of which "to be" is only the most common.
- They are not copulative in the infinitive.
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4 Answers
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The object of an infinitive takes the objective case. You are going to be her. I want to thank him.
The nominative case is used with copulative verbs, of which "to be" is only the most common. They are not copulative in the infinitive.
The nominative case is used with copulative verbs, of which "to be" is only the most common. They are not copulative in the infinitive.
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Linking (copulative) verbs identify the subject and the predicate.
Consider the following:
I am Michael Jackson. (This expresses identity or equivalence) Michael Jackson is in the nominative case.
I want to be Michael Jackson. (This expresses non-identity, I want to change my identity) Michael Jackson is in the object case.
I want to be him.
Consider the following:
I am Michael Jackson. (This expresses identity or equivalence) Michael Jackson is in the nominative case.
I want to be Michael Jackson. (This expresses non-identity, I want to change my identity) Michael Jackson is in the object case.
I want to be him.
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AlpheccaStarsI want to be Michael Jackson. (This expresses non-identity, I want to change my identity) Michael Jackson is in the object case.
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AnonymousI know that the nominative case (I hope that that's the right word) is typically used when the verb is "be"Well, the problem is that the nominative case (I, he, she, ...) is not typically used after a linking verb like 'be', no matter what teachers and textbooks advise. People generally use the object case after a verb, even if
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