Thread: it was her who arrived first

"It was her/him who did so-and-so" often sounds a bit more natural in ordinary colloquial speech. And as a short answer to the question "Who did it?" or "Who arrived first?", it's MUCH more natural to say "It was him [точка]" or "It was her [восклицательный знак]" That is, without a relative clause introduced by "who".

If you say "Who did it?" -- "It was he!", it sounds rather pompous, and you may remind people of Bela Lugosi in the 1931 version of Dracula. (He's always parodied as speaking with hyper-correct grammar: "It is I, Count Dracula!"; though 99.99% of English speakers would say, for example, "It's me, Buffy Summers.")

However, as zedeeyen wrote, "It was he/she who..." is the form preferred by traditional grammar, and thus it should be used in formal writing (or in highly formal speech, such as an academic lecture).

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

"It is I, Count Dracula!" ... "It's me, Buffy Summers."

If I wrote a book, what should I say in a passive voice: "The book was written by me/myself" ?

"The book was written by me" sounds more natural to me.



Scott

Originally Posted by CoffeeCup

If I wrote a book, what should I say in a passive voice: "The book was written by me/myself" ?