pronoun

Johnny   Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:07 pm GMT
I'd like to hear your opinions on the following examples. Please state the difference between them as best you can (in terms of frequency, register, dialect...)

It was he who suggested it.
It was him who suggested it.
Rick   Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:14 pm GMT
Number 1 is incorrect. Number 2 is correct and standard thruout the English speaking world.
Guest   Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:31 pm GMT
I disagree. Both are acceptable. The first one sounds a bit more lofty though.
guest   Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:54 pm GMT
No 1 is correct from a historical context and an ultra prescriptivist perspective.

No 2 was originally incorrect, but has over time become common/standard and is now accepted as a correct form due to universal usage.
Rick   Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:57 pm GMT
Number one sounds archaic.
Travis   Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:56 pm GMT
I agree; the first sounds grammatical but very formal and practically archaic to me, while the second is quite grammatical and sounds much more like what a normal person would say in Real Life today.
Guest   Mon Aug 04, 2008 4:23 pm GMT
The second is totally ungrammatical, but correct usage nonetheless.
Guest   Tue Aug 05, 2008 4:45 pm GMT
They both sound terribly awkward to me. I would just say, "He was the one who suggested it."
van   Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:24 am GMT
no. 1 is wrong
because we're talking about on the third person and addressing to the person which is himself
Guest   Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:41 am GMT
The 2nd one is spoken non-standard, many English professors will not accept it in an essay. It's just like saying ''John and me went to a bar''
or ''[Me] likes it''.
Guest   Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:42 am GMT
-It was him who suggested it.-


It is he to have suggested it.
It was he to suggest it.