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"Traditional" is correct; however "formal" is more appropriate. One should not use "it is/was" me in a formal letter.

Thanks, Flyboy

"Thou art" is traditional English. Am I right?

Then what is traditional English besides the above example? Could you please give me some examples.

Many thanks.

I am not sure of the various terms used. I would call it "early English". Usage such as "thou art" is found throughout the "Bible" English translations from early times.

"Thou art a blackguard"- an insult, although the term "blackguard" is not in common use today.

"Thou art my favorite musician."

I would use formal English when I write a letter to a politician or business leader.

"Dear sir, I request your indulgence and attention to the matter at hand. My wife and I bring this to your attention at this time....."

I would use informal english to chat with my friends in the street.

"G'day Fred, have a look at this. Me and the wife want you to have a look....

I would consider "Thou art" to be Shakespearian English. A form of english no longer in use.

Just to make sure.

"It's I helped her" is used in a formal situation.

"It's me helped her" is used in an informal situation.

However, both are gramatically correct.

Am I right?


Thanks in advance.

Definitely not. "I helped her" would be used in formal or informal conversation.

"Me helped her" should never be used. It is using an objective pronoun as the subject of a sentence. "I" is a first person nominative pronoun.

In the initial question, the discussion was about using the objective form as a subjective complement (the noun following a form of the verb "to be".

In your example "her" is a direct object of an active verb and being an objective pronoun, it is properly used.

I would have said "In proper English......"

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Mr Nice - Actually, neither of your examples is quite correct. The corrected sentences would read either "It's I who helped her", or if you're being informal, then "It's me who helped her". The second is the more common usage, in American English, anyway. In either case, you need "who".

What is 'proper English'? I only know formal, informal and literary.

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I guess "formal" would = "proper", but my gut feeling is that people who use the term "proper English" have learned their English from language snobs.

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To put it another way, "proper" has more than a touch of the judgmental; "formal" is more objective.

It's me/I who helped her.
Thank you very much guys.

I get it now.