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"only US" or "only WE"?



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
How to pronounce route? | Which one is correct, please
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"only US" or "only WE"? #1 (permalink) Sat Apr 15, 2006 14:41 pm   "only US" or "only WE"?
 

I'm sure this will sound trivial to most of you, but yesterday I was talking to a friend of mine and was assailed by doubt at some point...
What form is (more) correct?

Only US/ Only WE can settle the problem

Thank you very much!
Polly
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 08 Apr 2006
Posts: 17
Location: Italy

"only US" or "only WE"? #2 (permalink) Sat Apr 15, 2006 16:51 pm   "only US" or "only WE"?
 

It should be, "Only we can settle the problem," because the pronoun here is the subject and should be in the subject form. Take out "only", and you can see that, "Us can settle the problem," is definitely wrong.
Jamie (K)
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

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"only US" or "only WE"? #3 (permalink) Sat Apr 15, 2006 17:28 pm   "only US" or "only WE"?
 

Thank you Jamie!
I followed the very same line of reasoning, but I suspected that the peculiar emphatic construction introduced by "only" could imply the use of a personal pronoun complement.
Thank you very much again for your help!
Polly
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 08 Apr 2006
Posts: 17
Location: Italy

Breaking grammar rules #4 (permalink) Sat Apr 15, 2006 19:11 pm   Breaking grammar rules
 

To emphasize the subject a bit more, you could also turn the sentence around and say: We are the only ones who can settle the problem.

Moreover, the phrase 'it's (only) us' is also commonly used. Likewise, in everyday English you would say 'it's me' -- 'it's I' would sound far too pedantic and stuffy. It's one of those cases where even grammar experts advise breaking the rule.
Conchita
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Joined: 26 Dec 2005
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Location: Madrid, Spain

Breaking grammar rules #5 (permalink) Sat Apr 15, 2006 19:44 pm   Breaking grammar rules
 

Conchita wrote:
It's one of those cases where even grammar experts advise breaking the rule.


Another one: Once I saw some proofreaders and a writer go around and around over the sentence, "Here's you." "Here you are," would have conveyed the wrong message, and, "Here are you," sounded ungrammatical even though it was correct. Finally we just left it as, "Here's you."
Jamie (K)
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6552
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Here etc #6 (permalink) Sat Apr 15, 2006 20:06 pm   Here etc
 

Hi Jamie,

You said:

Quote:
Another one: Once I saw some proofreaders and a writer go around and around over the sentence, "Here's you." "Here you are," would have conveyed the wrong message, and, "Here are you," sounded ungrammatical even though it was correct. Finally we just left it as, "Here's you."


All the same really aren't they? Or are they?

Here's you telling Polly about the right case for the pronoun
That's you doing it now and no-one else is.

Here you are telling everyone about the proof reader
Look at what you're doing now!

Here are you telling us about something else
Who said you could do that?

Well, Polly I imagine you must be surprised at all this attention.

Happy Easter

Alan
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"only US" or "only WE"? #7 (permalink) Sat Apr 15, 2006 21:50 pm   "only US" or "only WE"?
 

Thank you Conchita, Jamie and Alan!
Your remarks are really precious.

Happy Easter (or Buona Pasqua, if you prefer!)
Polly
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 08 Apr 2006
Posts: 17
Location: Italy

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