Happy Clown, Sad Clown

This is my brother and I, aged something like 4 and 6 years old, I believe.

I know there are some scurvey splotches on this picture, but it's old, and this is the best I could do. I think you can still make out that I was the happy clown, and I can still remember my brother insisting that he HAD to be a sad clown. My mom made these totally bitchin' clown suits, with some help from us on the pom poms if memory serves, and painted our faces. I'm wearing a pair of yellow footie pyjamas under that outfit. These costumes were awesome, though, and my mom always went the extra mile. I loved them so much that I spend the month before every Halloween begging my son to be a clown, but he always wants to be a "dark magician" or an "evil sorcerer" or a "ninja vampire" or some such thing. Geez.

Sometimes my mom and I argue, and drive each other totally freaking nuts. We've had our tough times, but I love her, and I know how much she's always loved me. I hope she can forgive me for being so bitchy.

Also, I love my brother. He's the coolest. And, no one can deny that this is a cute-ass picture.

Comments

[Tosho]

This is my brother and I, aged something like 4 and 6 years old, I believe.
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UGH, to hell in a handbasket we go.
(Objective case)

This is my brother and me, aged something
like 4 and six years old, I believe.

[Jane]

OMG, you're so right. Point taken. I've made the correction. Hey Tosho, way to be lurking with nothing to say until grammar correction!

[meg]

You're off the hook, CJ -- you were right all along. The verb "to be" (called the "copula"[1]) takes the nominative, not the objective case. That is to say, "It is I!" is correct, not "It's me!" (no matter what we say day-to-day).

Sorry to contradict you, Tosho.

[1] Heh, heh, I said "copula."

[Jane]

She's right, Tosh. I looked it up... and so also, I WAS RIGHT!

Haha!

Actually, to be fair, my grammar book indicates that formally, we should use, as I did, the nominative as the complement to the verb "to be," but adds that we often use the objective in speaking. It's an area of flux, it seems, in the language. Even so, Tosh, I took you for the kind of man who would want to go the more formal route...

[Tosho]

You're off the hook, CJ -- you were right all along. The verb "to be" (called the "copula"[1]) takes the nominative, not the objective case. That is to say, "It is I!" is correct, not "It's me!" (no matter what we say day-to-day).
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For a simple sentence without a dependent clause you are absolutely correct.

This is my brother and I, aged something like 4 and 6 years old, I believe.

The simple noun and verb are "I believe".
Correctly nominative.

If you reorder the sentence so it makes more apparent sense: I believe this is my brother and I aged like 4 and 6 years old.

If you substitute the pronoun for the nouns the case becomes more apparent.

Nominitive case:
I believe this is WE aged like 4 and 6.

or the correct objective dependent:

I believe this is US aged like 4 and 6.

I heartily stand by the objective case in dependent clauses.

[Tara H.]

Although they no longer wear the clown suits, these two are still a couple of clowns.

[Jane]

See, my bro rules.

[meg]

Sorry, Tosho: the dependent clause doesn't affect the case that the copula takes (as CJ says, in formal written language -- even I, as card-carrying English professor, say "This is us" in ordinary speech). I can give you a bunch of cites from the grammar gods if you want.

Mind you, I'm not saying that's what CJ *should* say; I'm a descriptivist as these things go, and yes, language is evolving constantly. [That reminds me of something I wanted to blog about -- thanks!] But since you started the chain of correction, I felt professionally compelled to weigh in.

[Tara H.]

As Meg has mentioned, "to be" is a copulative verb (links two noun phrases together). A copulative verb should link two noun phrases of the SAME CASE together:

It is my brother and I.
It is he.
It is I.

My brother and I are it.
He is it.
I am it.

Still, I prefer to say, "It's me".

[Jane]

Crazy Jane: the site where we debate TRUTH and GRAMMAR.

[Caitlin]

So true. Verbs that link the subject directly to something in the predicate that modifies it are called linking/copular verbs. When this happens, the complement in the predicate is in the nominative case and is therefore called a predicate nominative.

The same rule applies for dependent clauses.

Cj is not WRONG, though it is certainly true that common usage favors the objective case.

[Matt Ambrose]

You two look like junior members of KISS.

[Crazy Jane]

Tosho the Chandler: Champion of Common Usage!