Pronouns as Predicate Nouns Adapted from Voyages in English - Fifth Year by Rev. Paul E. Campbell  and Sister Mary Donatus MacNickle

Portrait of a Young Girl (in Milanese Dress) 1505 by Albrecht Durer 1471-1528

     When I get home from work, I do not open the door and say "It's I." Like most people, I say, "It's me." "It's me" is informal, colloquial language. But in formal writing, I use "It's I." We adjust our language to our audience and purpose. In formal speaking and writing, a predicate noun is equal to the subject -- in person, number, and case. Thus, in formal language, pronouns used as predicate nouns should usually be the same as those used as subjects.

Part 1. 
1. Put parentheses ( ) around each prepositional phrase.
2. Underline every subject once and every finite verb twice, and label complements.
3. Put a vertical line after each main clause.
4. Explain why the pronouns are not in objective case.

1. Was it they?
2. The signer is she.
3. It could not be I.
4. Yes, it is they.
5. The winner is he.

Part 2. Write a predicate pronoun is place of each predicate noun.

1. No, it was not those children.
2. It was Bill on the phone.
3. Could it have been the Wilsons?
4. That is Tom on the boat in the river.
5. These are the people who brought the games.

Part 3. Write the following sentences, filling in each blank with a predicate pronoun.

1. The two sisters are ____________.
2. The lawyer is ____________.
3. It was ____________ on the porch.
4. It was not ____________ at the park.
5. The captain of the basketball team is ____________.