Who? ('It was John and I' vs 'They were John and I')

[Ched133]

hello,

i have a question. a friend of mine asked me "who did this", can I respond with

It was John and I

They were John and I

which one is right or sounds better?

[Mister Micawber]

.
It was
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[Ched133]

why "was"? Why is it singular

John and I are plural?

[Mister Micawber]

.
Unmarked 'who' is singular. We say 'Who does this?' not 'Who do this?'
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[Ched133]

thanks but i still don't understand

if the question got changed to "did you and John do this?", can I respond now with

it was john and i

or

they were John and I

[Mister Micawber]

.
The answer would probably be 'Yes, it was John and me', or just 'Yes'.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[Ched133]

why did you use "John and me" instead of "John and I"

can you please explain in detail because i'm having a hard time understanding your short explainations

Thanks

[Ched133]

can someone help

should it be "it was John and me" or "John and I"?

I was going and not me was going right?

[Alan]

Hi Ched,

The strict grammarian insists on answering: It is I when asked the question: Who is it?

But the rest of us would say: It is me or It's me.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Phrasal Verbs/run

[Nanucbe]

Just say 'John and me'
Why bother about 'it' or 'they'. It is only conversational English.
If you are going to write an answer you can write,"John and me (I) did that".
The best rule in language is "when in doubt reword."
Don't start the I or me problem over again. I hear the modern grammarians have settled for 'me'.
From the time I was a student to this day people have been asking the same question.
Most of them who ask are people who support 'me'.
n

[Ched133]

Got it! Thanks

[Nessie]

Sorry, don't blame me for setting off the debate again, bur I still have something to ask:
I understand the modern usage of "me" and the standard usage of "I", but I do wonder why we don't respond:
It were John and I
but
It was John and I

=>???

Thanks a lot
Nessie
_________________
... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know..

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Alan]

Hi Nessie,

You certainly wouldn't say:

[Nanucbe]

if the question got changed to "did you and John do this?", can I respond now with

it was john and i

or

they were John and I

If that is the question why don't you think of yes and no for responses and say
"Yes, we did."
or "No, we didn't."
n