Dear audience,
how is it correct to write: "It was me" or "It was I"? Googling gives frequent use of both forms,
claiical English literature gives both as well. Your suggestions?

Some rules:

(1) A verb can only have one subject. (This includes the verb "to be".)

(2) Everything else related to that verb is in an oblique case to show that it is not the subject of the verb.

Therefore:

"It was me." is correct.

* "It" is the subject.
* "was" is the verb.
* "me" is the pronoun "I" in an oblique case to show that it is not the subject of the verb.


"It was I." is also feasibly correct.

* "It" is in an oblique case. (Note: "It" does not change in an oblique case.)
* "was" is the verb.
* "I" is the subject of the verb.

However, in English, word order is important, and it would be unusual to start a sentence with a noun in an oblique case. Therefore, "It was I" is the most difficult to accept of the two versions, but deliberately altering word order in a sentence is a recognised technique for effect. It is difficult to use that justification in such a simple, well-used sentence though.

In sum, "It was me" is better than "It was I", but you can argue that both are correct.

Dear GM,
thank for your reply.

I was told by one native British English speaker
(university professor), that "It was I" is preferred
over "it was me" (that what I was taught), but I was
not able to support my point.

Remaining questions:

Why do people mix it in the same text:

like: "IT WAS ME !!! It was I who cut the cherry tree down."
or "And then I realized the simple truth: it was me. It was I who allowed mob mentality to take over, to stay (or leave) at command"
(web search). Is it done to achieve some kind of funny(?) effect?

The other question: old children verses:
"
Who Killed **** Robin?

Oh, who killed **** Robin?
Oh, who killed **** Robin?
It's I said the sparrow,
With my little bow and arrow.
It was I, it was I killed **** Robin.
"
Is it done also to get more formality, or are those the remains of the old English rules?

Thank you in advance

Mmm, a great question.

I do not think it is literary variance (e.g. using “widen” in once sentence and “broaden” in the next to keep the text varied and interesting) at work. I think “it was me” demonstrates a more natural reaction; whereas “it was I” seems more considered. This idea fits with the context of your first two examples.

In the c*ck robin example, we have a different force at work. The word “I” plays two roles in the sentence (note: This is a grammar error). It is the subject of two verbs: “was” (looking left) and “killed” (looking right).


Of note, "It was I" is the grammatical equivalent of "It was we", "It was she", "It was he", "It was they", etc.

You will find far less people going for these versions; therefore, we can judge that common usage has played a role convincing people that "It was I" is correct. It actually sounds more educated - it's just a shame it's wrong.

Also, there are some set phrases, e.g.: "Woe is me." If you were to say "Woe is I," almost all native speakers would probably hear it as a mistake.