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Discussion Groups / ESL Teaching / December 2003This is he or this is him?
I want to present a question. When someone calls on the phone and I answer and they ask to speak with me is it best to answer like this: Q: May I speak with Jose. A:This is he or A: This is him I think the corrrect way is This is he because I am not a indirect object but a direct object. THank you very much. Jose Luis > I want to present a question. > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > I think the corrrect way is This is he because I am not a indirect object > but a direct object. The correct form would be "This is him" - it is an idiomatic usage. However, this isn't what we actually say on the phone. In reality we say: Q: May i speak with Jose? A: Speaking. Regards, Einde O'Callaghan >> I want to present a question. >> [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > A: Speaking. I've heard people say, "This is she," very often. Is it a woman thing? Men don't say, "This is he,"? >>> I want to present a question. >>> [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > I've heard people say, "This is she," very often. Is it a woman > thing? Usually. Some male homosexuals and transvestites have been known to use "This is she". > Men don't say, "This is he,"? Very few. They generally say "Speaking" or "This is Jose". Even though there's not case in Japanese or Chinese, both languages use the same construction: Watashi desu. Wo shi. >>I've heard people say, "This is she," very often. Is it a woman >>thing? [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Watashi desu. > Wo shi. In Japanese, "watashi desu" can be used by both men and women. Isn't it nice? >>>I've heard people say, "This is she," very often. Is it a woman >>>thing? [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > In Japanese, "watashi desu" can be used by both men and women. > Isn't it nice? Yes, that is nice. No problem with the stupidity of allegedly sexist pronouns, except, of course, for "kare" and "kanojo". In Chinese, it's "ta" for "he", "she", and "it", but the kanji give away the gender. >>In Japanese, "watashi desu" can be used by both men and women. >>Isn't it nice? > > Yes, that is nice. No problem with the stupidity of allegedly sexist > pronouns, except, of course, for "kare" and "kanojo". In Chinese, it's > "ta" for "he", "she", and "it", but the kanji give away the gender. Yeah, Chinese is much closer to English than Japanese in most aspect. >>>In Japanese, "watashi desu" can be used by both men and women. >>>Isn't it nice? [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Yeah, Chinese is much closer to English than Japanese in most > aspect. But Japanese seems to me a much more grammatically reasonable language than either Chinese or English. >>Yeah, Chinese is much closer to English than Japanese in most >>aspect. > > But Japanese seems to me a much more grammatically reasonable language > than either Chinese or English. You are out of your mind. However, I prefer Japanese when I have to study math; I prefer English when I have to study music. >>> I want to present a question. >>> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > I've heard people say, "This is she," very often. Is it a woman thing? > Men don't say, "This is he,"? I would regard this form as hyper-correct, i.e. sombody following a rule that they have been told is teh correct form. Regards, Einde O'Callaghan >> I've heard people say, "This is she," very often. Is it a woman >> thing? Men don't say, "This is he,"? >> > I would regard this form as hyper-correct, i.e. sombody following a rule > that they have been told is teh correct form. That was an example rendered by my English teacher when he explained what was colloquialism and what not. > > I've heard people say, "This is she," very often. Is it a woman thing? > > Men don't say, "This is he,"? > > > I would regard this form as hyper-correct, i.e. sombody following a rule > that they have been told is teh correct form. I'd say hypercorrection is making a mistake when one is trying to be correct. "This is she." isn't a mistake so I wouldn't call it a hypercorrection. Adrian >>>I've heard people say, "This is she," very often. Is it a woman thing? >>> Men don't say, "This is he,"? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > correct. "This is she." isn't a mistake so I wouldn't call it a > hypercorrection. It's old fashioned and sounds a bit odd to me. Regards, Einde O'Callaghan > >>>I've heard people say, "This is she," very often. Is it a woman thing? > >>> Men don't say, "This is he,"? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > > It's old fashioned and sounds a bit odd to me. I think it's regarded as very formal English, which can sometimes be very old fashioned. I've heard the occasional news reporter using this type of language. In my experience it's very rare, and not likely to become fashionable anytime soon. Iain > >>> I want to present a question. > >>> [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Regards, Einde O'Callaghan Technically it should be 'this is he'. Subjective completion of a copula verb. Same with 'It is I' rather' than 'It is me' But as Einde noted earlier, idiomatic usage tends to overrule grammar. Perhaps Pogo's 'We have met the enemy and he is us' had something to do with that -:) Hi there, Could any one help me out? 1. a mean hand at something means be good at something What is the difference in the following sentences? a. She is a mean hand at carpentry. b. She has a mean hand at carpentry. 2. What is the difference between one-on-one and one-to-one? Thanks. FS > 1. a mean hand at something means be good at something > > What is the difference in the following sentences? > a. She is a mean hand at carpentry. > b. She has a mean hand at carpentry. (b) is wrong, imo. > 2. What is the difference between one-on-one and one-to-one? A competition can be one-on-one. A conversation can be one-to-one. Adrian >> 1. a mean hand at something means be good at something >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > (b) is wrong, imo. Thanks a lot, Adrian. So, a mean hand doesn't belong to the group like, a tin ear, a green thumb and two left feet, in which, to have is used instead of to be. For example, She/he has a green thumb/tin ear/two left feet. >> 2. What is the difference between one-on-one and one-to-one? > > A competition can be one-on-one. > A conversation can be one-to-one. How about tutoring? Should one-on-one or one-to-one be used? Zoe > >> 1. a mean hand at something means be good at something > >> [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Zoe There's often no logic to idiom, nor (in my view) is there really a right or wrong in a large, moral sense. What is acceptable is what is conventional; and what is conventional is what has been repeated (for any number of reasons) by a given group of speakers and writers. Why does one sentence sound better than another? Only because it is recognized in some way by a native speaker. When someone says that it "sounds right to me," the native speaker usually means that he or she has heard it and remembers or recognizes it, not necessarily because there is some arcane logic at work. The key is iteration, not morality or logic. M. > >> 1. a mean hand at something means be good at something > >> [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Zoe In N American English one-on-one is an adversarial situation. Of course that can also happen with tutoring -:) > A:This is he This is standard/written English. > or > A: This is him This is commonly used oral English. Both are correct. FS |
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