# He gave me it, would you use it?



## roxcyn

The scenario:

The key was on the table.  

Now, the speaker or writer is going to say either of the following sentences:

He gave me it.

OR

He gave it to me.  


I believe some people have a preference over one form.  Which form do you think is better for a formal writing?  Are they both okay for formal writing?  Are they both okay for speaking (informally or formally)?  

Thank you.


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## sarcie

My vote is for "He gave it to me." for formal writing. The other sounds odd to my ears.


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## victoria1

sarcie said:


> My vote is for "He gave it to me." for formal writing. The other sounds odd to my ears.


  Or
YOu can say: he handed the key to me.


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## roxcyn

Thank you, where I am from we (in speech) usually try to delete the "to" part (well, we do use both ways though).  

So we say in speech: He gave me it.

Victoria's example would be: He handed me it.  

Or we say He handed me the key.

So I guess we are very unique because other people must not do this


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## fernandotorres

roxcyn said:


> Thank you, where I am from we (in speech) usually try to delete the &quot;to&quot; part (well, we do use both ways though).
> 
> So we say in speech: He gave me it.
> 
> Victoria's example would be: He handed me it.
> 
> Or we say He handed me the key.
> 
> So I guess we are very unique because other people must not do this



"He gave me it "is absolutely incorrect,it will always be "He gave it to me"


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## roxcyn

Hey fernando:

I was looking at another post, and I realized something as it was a similar question.  I believe it is another dialect difference.  Since you are from India I believe you studied British English.  As many British English speakers have already said they keep the "to" in there.  However I speak American English, and perhaps there are other dialects as well that do that.  I guess some of us tend to delete the "to" in the phrase.  

Have a nice day.


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## fernandotorres

roxcyn said:


> Hey fernando:
> 
> I was looking at another post, and I realized something as it was a similar question.  I believe it is another dialect difference.  Since you are from India I believe you studied British English.  As many British English speakers have already said they keep the &quot;to&quot; in there.  However I speak American English, and perhaps there are other dialects as well that do that.  I guess some of us tend to delete the &quot;to&quot; in the phrase.
> 
> Have a nice day.



You are spot on,I do indeed speak British English but that`s hardly important.I have studied English enough to know the subtle and not so subtle differences between American and British English.Still,with all due respect,I think that  the "to" in the sentence you have given is indispensable."He gave me it" is gramatically incorrect,this is what I think.


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## AWordLover

Hi all,

It may be a regional thing.

To me, "He gave me it." (and the other to-less variants) sound wrong.

I would only say, "He gave it to me."


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## cuchuflete

This construction came up for discussion in another thread a few months back.  I was surprised then to learn
that many BE speakers were comfortable with "He _verb_ me it."   I don't know the grammar rules that allow or disallow such a construction, but it is very jarring to my ear.   I'm not calling it wrong, just uncomfortable to hear.

I do remember a childhood friend who used this construction all the time, and it bothered me then, because it
was unaccustomed.  His mother had a very strong English accent.


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## JamesM

I always thought "he gave me it" was a British English construction.  It seems to me I've read it in novels by British authors.  It would sound odd to me coming from someone with an American accent, but I'd have no trouble with it delivered in a British accent of some kind. 

Just a quick Google Books search has it showing up in books by Henry James, in a journal of the Navy Records Society of Great Britain, and varous other sources.  I don't know that it's distinctly BE or AE.


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## JSand4325

I'm from Chicagoland(Chicago and the region around it) and this construct is common "He gave me it", but it is also grammatically incorrect.  You would most definitely use "He gave it to me" in a formal writing though it would not be uncommon to hear the other phrase, atleast where I come from.


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## lizzeymac

roxcyn said:


> Thank you, where I am from we (in speech) usually _try to delete the "to" part_ (well, we do use both ways though).
> 
> So we say in speech: He gave me it.
> 
> Victoria's example would be: He handed me it.
> 
> Or we say He handed me the key.
> So I guess we are very unique because other people must not do this




If I were writing I would tend to write "He handed/gave me _the key_," for clarity - too many "it"s can be confusing.  In speaking I might say "He gave it / handed it to me"

Is a tendency to eliminate "to" something you were taught in school or a regional thing?  I have never heard this in the Northeast.  
Always looking to learn more about "Americanisms."


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## roxcyn

Hm, I am not sure, I am from Ohio and we say that all the time. Are you sure it is British?  Other British users said it wasn't correct to delete the "to".  We say that a lot here by deleting the "to" .  Perhaps it is a regional thing


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## Sairen

I'm from the Kansas City area (Midwest US), and "He gave me it" sounds terribly awkward and jarring.  I would never use it.  "He gave it to me" is much better, both for conversation and for writing at any level.


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## anothersmith

Sairen said:


> I'm from the Kansas City area (Midwest US), and "He gave me it" sounds terribly awkward and jarring.  I would never use it.  "He gave it to me" is much better, both for conversation and for writing at any level.



I'm from California, and I agree with Sairen.


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## roxcyn

Thanks for your replies, perhaps it is a regional thing around my state.  Just the other day someone asked me:

"Who gave you the hat?"

And my reply was: "Shawn gave me it".  We say stuff like that all the time.  Perhaps it is not correct grammatically, but I recognize that people us the "to" in there, but here we use both forms (with and without the to).


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## Terry Morti

> "Who gave you the hat?"
> 
> "Shawn gave me it"


Even in BE we wouldn't say it in that order.

Shawn gave it me. 

OR 

Shawn gave it to me. 

Never, Shawn gave me it.


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## roxcyn

Cool, hm, well I definitely wouldn't say "Shawn gave it me."  That just sounds terrible.  (I'm being factious...)


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## Terry Morti

roxcyn said:


> Cool, hm, well I definitely wouldn't say "Shawn gave it me." That just sounds terrible. (I'm being factious...)



That's because you're foreign!


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## Teafrog

G'day y'all, allow me to stick my oar in:

"He gave me it" sound quite awkward to me, however if you quantify this and say “he gave me the key” then that would be fine, IMO.

If you wish to be vague, or refer to an object previously mentioned, than we would use (London – England) “ he gave it to me”. 

In my own opinion - and bearing in mind I’m from the UK, so that doesn’t mean someone somewhere else in the world could not use it (how’s that for diplomacy, hey?  ), “Shawn gave it me” simply doesn’t sound “proper” English, but at least everyone will comprehend the meaning… after pausing for thought a couple of seconds  .

Phew


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## Terry Morti

It is the norm in some parts of the UK such as the north.
 BBC Lancashire

Beryl Bainbridge

I suspect the Welsh use it as the norm too, but I can't immediately see a reference for it.


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## Haylette

I would completely understand "Shawn gave it t'me" (I think there is just a hint of a "t" in there)
It doesn't sound completely proper, as Teafrog said, but then again neither does "Shawn gave me it"


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## liliput

Regional variations aside, "He gave it to me" is the correct construction. "He gave it me" and "He gave me it" will sound like bad English unless you're talking to a person who happens to use the same construction.
"He gave me the key" is fine.


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## Packard

fernandotorres said:


> ..."He gave me it" is grammatically incorrect,this is what I think.


 
This is dialogue.  Grammar does not count.  What does matter is:

1.  Does it sound authentic?  That is, does it sound like real dialogue, and does it sound appropriate for the speaker.  

and 

2.  Is it comprehensible?  That is, would the average reader understand what it means.


In dialogue, (real dialogue, that is) people use sentence fragments, repeat thoughts and use unorthodox grammar.

We clean that up a bit for the written page, but we should leave in enough of those idiosyncracies to make the dialogue sound authentic.  Otherwise you end up with "speech writing", and entirely different discipline.


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## Terry Morti

liliput said:


> Regional variations aside, "He gave it to me" is the correct construction. "He gave it me" and "He gave me it" will sound like bad English unless you're talking to a person who happens to use the same construction.
> "He gave me the key" is fine.



Does Dickens sound like he uses bad English? Or  Boswell or even Eliot in  Mill on the Floss?


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## badgrammar

After reading all the posts, I'll give my two cents.  This girl from Texas would certainly not be surprised to hear "He gave me it" in random speech.  But it would sound wrong to me, and I would, snob that I am, wonder if the person who said that has a really good command of the English language.  

Because I think most of us were taught in school and as children that it is an "incorrect" sentence structure in modern English.  There is no preposition, and you give something _to_ someone. 

That it is said by perfectly well-educated and intelligent people in daily speech is apparently true, and I do not doubt that.   

I personally have never used that term as far back as I can remember, it simply would not come out of my mouth that way. 



roxcyn said:


> The scenario:
> 
> The key was on the table.
> 
> Now, the speaker or writer is going to say either of the following sentences:
> 
> He gave me it.
> 
> OR
> 
> He gave it to me.
> 
> 
> I believe some people have a preference over one form.  Which form do you think is better for a formal writing?  Are they both okay for formal writing?  Are they both okay for speaking (informally or formally)?
> 
> Thank you.


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## Packard

Terry Morti said:


> Does Dickens sound like he uses bad English? Or Boswell or even Elliot in Mill on the Floss?


 
(Your links are not working here.)

Dickens, Boswell and Eliot were of a different era and their ideas of dialogue are different than 21st century ideas.

When I was in college in the 1960's studying journalism, we were taught to "clean up" the grammar of politicians when quoting them.  That is not necessary anymore.

_*Good dialogue must sound authentic.*_  If you can do that with perfect grammar, fine.  Go ahead and do that.  I don't think you can quote a working man or a teenager and be convincing using perfect grammar.

You could quote my philosophy professor using very erudite language, but I don't think you could quote many people and be convincing using classically correct language.


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## Terry Morti

I've just tested my links on a different machine and browser - and although my spelling of Eliot is shocking - my links appear to be fine!

I wasn't suggesting that modern classics are a suitable model for writing contemporary dialogue, just citing examples of the usage from authors whose credentials are beyond contestation. I gave a couple of contemporary examples of usage earlier. 
Taken together I was aiming to demonstrate that "he gave it me" was "correct" enough for the masters and is still in use, at least in the north of England.


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## fernandotorres

Terry Morti said:


> I've just tested my links on a different machine and browser - and although my spelling of Eliot is shocking - my links appear to be fine!
> 
> I wasn't suggesting that modern classics are a suitable model for writing contemporary dialogue, just citing examples of the usage from authors whose credentials are beyond contestation. I gave a couple of contemporary examples of usage earlier.
> Taken together I was aiming to demonstrate that &quot;he gave it me&quot; was &quot;correct&quot; enough for the masters and is still in use, at least in the north of England.



seriously,no offence,but "He gave it me" is I think,absolutely gramatically incorrect,I don`t think the English who ruled over our coutry woul have approved of it either!


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## Packard

fernandotorres said:


> seriously,no offence,but "He gave it me" is I think,absolutely gramatically incorrect,I don`t think the English who ruled over our coutry woul have approved of it either!


 

He did not write "He gave it me", he wrote "He gave me it."

It sounds pretty idiomatic to me.  In any case I would not be surprised if it was used in dialogue.

Perfectly proper English could have, *"Forthwith he transferred proprietorship of the keys from himself to myself."*  Just because something is grammatically correct does not make it correct for dialogue.

I would prefer, *"He gave it to me."*


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## JamesM

fernandotorres said:


> seriously,no offence,but "He gave it me" is I think,absolutely gramatically incorrect,I don`t think the English who ruled over our coutry woul have approved of it either!


 
There I think you might be incorrect, fernandotorres. No less than Rudyard Kipling used this very phrase.

Here's an example:

http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/K/KiplingRudyard/prose/UndertheDeodars/illusion.html

HE. ...Let me look. Like everything else of yours it’s perfect. Where did you get it from? 

SHE. *He gave it me*, on Wednesday—our wedding-day, you know. 


I imagine the English were reading quite a bit of Kipling in the days you mention. 

It may be falling out of use these days, but it is not at the point that I think it can be declared "absolutely incorrect." 

In the book "An Introduction to the Study of Language" published in 1983, the author, Leonard Bloomfield, uses this particular phrase as an example of a preference in language for a certain syntactical order "edging out" alternate forms of the same phrase. You can read more of his book here, but here is the relevant portion:

_"Some time ago one said indifferently in English He gave me it, He gave it me, or He gave it to me. Today we use, in America at least, the last of these far more frequently than the first two; tomorrow it alone may be correct, - or else an idiomatic use...._

I think the jury's still out on "He gave it me" being absolutely incorrect.


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## fernandotorres

JamesM said:


> There I think you might be incorrect, fernandotorres. No less than Rudyard Kipling used this very phrase.
> 
> Here's an example:
> 
> http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/K/KiplingRudyard/prose/UndertheDeodars/illusion.html
> 
> HE. ...Let me look. Like everything else of yours it’s perfect. Where did you get it from?
> 
> SHE. *He gave it me*, on Wednesday—our wedding-day, you know.
> 
> 
> I imagine the English were reading quite a bit of Kipling in the days you mention.
> 
> It may be falling out of use these days, but it is not at the point that I think it can be declared &quot;absolutely incorrect.&quot;
> 
> In the book &quot;An Introduction to the Study of Language&quot; published in 1983, the author, Leonard Bloomfield, uses this particular phrase as an example of a preference in language for a certain syntactical order &quot;edging out&quot; alternate forms of the same phrase. You can read more of his book here, but here is the relevant portion:
> 
> _&quot;Some time ago one said indifferently in English He gave me it, He gave it me, or He gave it to me. Today we use, in America at least, the last of these far more frequently than the first two; tomorrow it alone may be correct, - or else an idiomatic use...._
> 
> I think the jury's still out on &quot;He gave it me&quot; being absolutely incorrect.



I am prepared to eat humble pie,it may be correct but dear sir,with all du respect,do you think that any English grammar teacher worth his salt would approve of his pupils using this contentious form?


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## Terry Morti

fernandotorres said:


> seriously,no offence,but "He gave it me" is I think,absolutely gramatically incorrect,I don`t think the English who ruled over our coutry woul have approved of it either!



fernandotorres, English is a language of inconsistencies particularly in the spoken form and "He gave it me" is one of them from this side of the pond. But as we are all agreed "He gave it to me" is indeed "correct".

However it is a matter of record that the exact form of words "He gave it me" has been used by some of our most celebrated and illustrious authors (not necessarily in direct speech) and _is_ used in the UK today as a number of others on this thread observed earlier.

Packard, as I noted above, not even we contrary British use the form "he gave me it."


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## JamesM

fernandotorres said:


> I am prepared to eat humble pie,it may be correct but dear sir,with all du respect,do you think that any English grammar teacher worth his salt would approve of his pupils using this contentious form?


 
I wouldn't recommend using it in an English paper other than in a dialogue, no.  That said, the original poster was asking if "he gave me it" could be used in speaking or writing. Out of that came the discussion of its variations - "He gave it to me" and "he gave it me." It's been established by multiple posters that there are regions where "he gave it me" is perfectly normal in speech and would be fine in writing dialogue. 

Personally, I wouldn't use it. I'm just objecting to the absolute statement that "it is absolutely incorrect." Would any English grammar teacher worth his salt approve of it? I'd say it depends entirely on where the English grammar teacher is located. What might be marked incorrect in an English classroom in Los Angeles might be completely different from what would be marked incorrect in Lancaster (England), Perth (Australia) or Delhi (India). This is a worldwide website, and if I've learned anything here it's that absolutes don't hold up too well when discussing all the variants of English around the globe.


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## Loob

My answer to the question is "yes, I would use '_he gave me it'_, in informal speech.  But '_he gave it to me'_ is safer, because it's always correct".

This thread addresses a similar question: it's from one of the English/Spanish forums, but after the first few posts most of the contributions are in English.

Loob


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## fernandotorres

JamesM said:


> I wouldn't recommend using it in an English paper other than in a dialogue, no.  That said, the original poster was asking if &quot;he gave me it&quot; could be used in speaking or writing. Out of that came the discussion of its variations - &quot;He gave it to me&quot; and &quot;he gave it me.&quot; It's been established by multiple posters that there are regions where &quot;he gave it me&quot; is perfectly normal in speech and would be fine in writing dialogue.
> 
> Personally, I wouldn't use it. I'm just objecting to the absolute statement that &quot;it is absolutely incorrect.&quot; Would any English grammar teacher worth his salt approve of it? I'd say it depends entirely on where the English grammar teacher is located. What might be marked incorrect in an English classroom in Los Angeles might be completely different from what would be marked incorrect in Lancaster (England), Perth (Australia) or Delhi (India). This is a worldwide website, and if I've learned anything here it's that absolutes don't hold up too well when discussing all the variants of English around the globe.



I agree sir.Absolutes don`t hold up too well,but in my opinion,we might understand and marvel at  the  idiosyncrasies of the language but those who are learning it as a foreign language,I personally feel,stand to benefit if we tell them what is acceptable and what is not in a precise  manner.This is the sole reason behind taking such a strong stance.


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## JamesM

fernandotorres said:


> I agree sir.Absolutes don`t hold up too well,but in my opinion,we might understand and marvel at the idiosyncrasies of the language but those who are learning it as a foreign language,I personally feel,stand to benefit if we tell them what is acceptable and what is not in a precise manner.This is the sole reason behind taking such a strong stance.


 
In that case, I think the best we can say is that it would be marked incorrect in our region/country/variant when it is a phrase like this that is still in use in some parts of the world.


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## fernandotorres

JamesM said:


> In that case, I think the best we can say is that it would be marked incorrect in our region/country/variant when it is a phrase like this that is still in use in some parts of the world.



Agreed it is in use in some parts,but since ,as a whole,we all agree that it is gramatically incorrect,it`s advisable that it should not be used.Regional variations notwithstanding,there should be a general consensus .


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## cuchuflete

fernandotorres said:


> Agreed it is in use in some parts,but since ,as a whole,we all agree that it is gramatically incorrect,it`s advisable that it should not be used.Regional variations notwithstanding,there should be a general consensus .



Please do not include me in "*we* all agree that it is _gramatically_ (sic) incorrect".

As I stated earlier, I find it jarring for syntactical reasons. I don't use it. It is used in other regions of my country and in other English speaking countries. 
I'm still waiting for the appearance of any widely accepted rules of grammar that proscribe
such a construction.  

I would certainly advise any learner of English to avoid it because it's a regionalism, at least until they have mastered more common syntax.  That's far from declaring it grammatically incorrect.


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## liliput

Terry Morti said:


> Does Dickens sound like he uses bad English? Or Boswell or even Eliot in Mill on the Floss?


 
Actually, these authors sound like they use old-fashioned English. I could look through any book that was written over a hundred years ago and find countless examples of words and grammatical structures that are no longer accepted usage.
As I wrote in another post recently, it's fine to make non-native speakers aware of regional variations but it's unfair to encourage them to use erroneous grammatical structures.


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## LV4-26

Can we agree that _he gave it me_ would raise eyebrows among many speakers of standard contemporary English?

As for _he gave me it_, it is of course not the most common version but it is logical : its structure is copied after that of..._
He gave me the book
_...or any such sentence with [Subj + _give_ + indirect object (NP1)+ direct object (NP2)].

Only that structure, normally, can't be used when NP2 is a personal pronoun (like "it").

Apparently, in roxcyn's part of the country, and probably some others, it can.


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## fernandotorres

cuchuflete said:


> Please do not include me in &quot;*we* all agree that it is _gramatically_ (sic) incorrect&quot;.
> 
> As I stated earlier, I find it jarring for syntactical reasons. I don't use it. It is used in other regions of my country and in other English speaking countries.
> I'm still waiting for the appearance of any widely accepted rules of grammar that proscribe
> such a construction.
> 
> I would certainly advise any learner of English to avoid it because it's a regionalism, at least until they have mastered more common syntax.  That's far from declaring it grammatically incorrect.



Please, would you be kind enough to tell me what is "sic" supposed to mean ?I plead ignorance.


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## cuchuflete

> Can we agree that _he gave it me_ would raise eyebrows among many speakers of standard contemporary English?


 It makes my eyebrows curl and my brain do back flips, for sure.  I'm not used to it.

What if we switch pronouns, and substitute 'that' for 'it'?  The syntactical dissonance suddenly disappears.

I wonder why.

Question: Did he give you the green flipdoddle?

Answer 1:  Yes, he gave me it.    Ouch! Grumble!

Answer 2: Yes, he gave me that.   Perfectly normal.


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## cuchuflete

fernandotorres said:


> Please, would you be kind enough to tell me what is "sic" supposed to mean ?I plead ignorance.






> sic  /sik; Eng. sɪk[seek; Eng. sik]  –_adverb_  Latin. so; thus: usually written parenthetically to denote that a word, phrase, passage, etc., that may appear strange or incorrect has been written intentionally or has been quoted verbatim: He signed his name as e. e. cummings (sic).



Please feel free to return the favor.  My spelling errors (I usually call them typing errors, but they are more frequently spelling errors.  ) are abundant.


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## fernandotorres

Thank you,I realised the error myself,as a matter of fact,whilst I was perusing through that post,but thank you  all the same for the explanation.


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## fernandotorres

cuchuflete said:


> It makes my eyebrows curl and my brain do back flips, for sure.  I'm not used to it.
> 
> What if we switch pronouns, and substitute 'that' for 'it'?  The syntactical dissonance suddenly disappears.
> 
> I wonder why.
> 
> Question: Did he give you the green flipdoddle?
> 
> Answer 1:  Yes, he gave me it.    Ouch! Grumble!
> 
> Answer 2: Yes, he gave me that.   Perfectly normal.



I couldn`t agree with you more,the substitution makes the difference


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## Terry Morti

I can't see any more from the snippet  here
but under *Search in this book* from _A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage 1957_, it does say that the "he gave it me" construction is "impossible to American ears. But it has been standard in England for centuries and is used in the King James bible (for example, Exodus 23:30). To English ears, the american _to _as in _he gave it to me, _sounds like an affectation, a would-be elegance..."

Tantalisingly I can see no more, than  this image.


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## Elowen

For what it’s worth, "he gave it me", "he gave me it" and “he gave it to me” all sound normal to me.

It seems a peculiar rule to say that “he gave me the book” is grammatical but “he gave me it” is not.


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## panjandrum

Ignoring for the moment that "He gave me it," sounds completely alien, I wonder about its grammatical correctness.  Let me try to explore this idea.


The verb <give> takes a direct and an indirect object.

*What did Peter do with the ball?
He gave me the ball.*
Everyone must agree that these sentences are correct.

*Where is the ball - what did Peter do with it?
He gave me it.*
Here, "it" represents "the ball", does it not?
Surely this is grammatically correct, even if it is bizarre usage.

Edit: I was musing on this while Elowen was posting a concise statement of the same (I think) suggestion.


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## Packard

cuchuflete said:


> It makes my eyebrows curl and my brain do back flips, for sure. I'm not used to it.
> 
> What if we switch pronouns, and substitute 'that' for 'it'? The syntactical dissonance suddenly disappears.
> 
> I wonder why.
> 
> Question: Did he give you the green flipdoddle?
> 
> Answer 1: Yes, he gave me it. Ouch! Grumble!
> 
> Answer 2: Yes, he gave me that. Perfectly normal.


 
The presumption is that when you give answer 2, that the speaker is pointing at the keys. That being the case, then answer 2 is really:

"Yes, he gave me that [over there, you see the keys don't you]."

With the "it" there is no sense of pointing, and the sentence seems incomplete.


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## cuchuflete

Packard said:


> The presumption is that when you give answer 2, that the speaker is pointing at the keys. That being the case, then answer 2 is really:
> 
> "Yes, he gave me that [over there, you see the keys don't you]."
> 
> With the "it" there is no sense of pointing, and the sentence seems incomplete.



We have different interpretations.  I made no reference to keys.  

I wrote the example imagining two speakers in a room devoid of green flipdoddles, so pointing didn't come into the equation for me.  Obviously, one could imagine a scene in which the object in question is present and pointed at.  It's no less logical then my assumption.   The question and answers could occur with or without the presence of the object. 

Here's a new example.

_Henry and Vivian are in an empty room. Neither carries any object, nor is there any other person or object present. Both speak in soft monotones, and make no physical gestures. 

Henry: Viv, did Oscar give you the ham sandwich he was carrying in his suitcase last Tuesday?
Vivian (1): Yes Henry, he gave me it.
__Vivian (2): Yes Henry, he gave me that.
_
Now that we have reduced the dialogue to a verbal exchange, with no potential pointing,
how do people perceive the two answers.


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## Packard

cuchuflete said:


> We have different interpretations. I made no reference to keys.
> 
> I wrote the example imagining two speakers in a room devoid of green flipdoddles, so pointing didn't come into the equation for me. Obviously, one could imagine a scene in which the object in question is present and pointed at. It's no less logical then my assumption. The question and answers could occur with or without the presence of the object.
> 
> Here's a new example.
> 
> _Henry and Vivian are in an empty room. Neither carries any object, nor is there any other person or object present. Both speak in soft monotones, and make no physical gestures. _
> 
> _Henry: Viv, did Oscar give you the ham sandwich he was carrying in his suitcase last Tuesday?_
> _Vivian (1): Yes Henry, he gave me it._
> _Vivian (2): Yes Henry, he gave me that._
> 
> Now that we have reduced the dialogue to a verbal exchange, with no potential pointing,
> how do people perceive the two answers.


 
He gave me *that*.  *That* refers to the ham sandwich, mentally pointed out (without the physical finger pointing).


Henry gave me *that* [which he referred to].


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## moo mouse

I personally don't like 'he gave it me' although I have heard it often enough, I think it's terrible English, along the lines of 'he wrote me' or 'can I come with?' (without wanting to start a new debate!).
I would only ever write 'he gave it to me', or a longer version, 'he gave me the... (key, or whatever)'. If I was feeling particularly lazy and/or inarticulate I might say 'he gave me it', but I would avoid writing it at all costs (except in reported speech I suppose).


----------



## cuchuflete

Thread topic:  He *gave me it,* would you use it?





moo mouse said:


> I personally don't like 'he *gave it me*' although I have heard it often enough, I think it's terrible English, ...



Two questions:

1. Why do so many people keep mixing 'gave me it' with 'gave it me'?

2.  Why is it _terrible English_?  I agree it is not customary for many of us, me included, and therefore
sounds odd to us, but what precisely is wrong with it, other than the effect it has on those of us who are not used to hearing "He gave me it"?   It may in fact be terrible English, or it may simply be
an unfamiliar construction.  Please help me understand the fault.


----------



## Packard

cuchuflete said:


> Thread topic: He *gave me it,* would you use it?
> 
> Two questions:
> 
> 1. Why do so many people keep mixing 'gave me it' with 'gave it me'?...


 
In American English I have *never* heard the expression "gave it me"; I have heard "gave me it" quite often.


----------



## moo mouse

In the case of Henry and Vivian, I think the reason behind Henry's question denotes what Vivian would say, thus:

[Henry wants to know if Oscar let her have a taste of the ham sandwich or if he actually gave it to her]
Henry: _Viv, did Oscar give you the ham sandwich he was carrying in his suitcase last Tuesday?
_Viv: _Yes Henry, he gave it to me/he gave me it.

_[Henry wonders if Oscar gave Vivian the cheese sandwich he made last Tuesday morning or the ham sandwich in his briefcase]
Henry: _Viv, did Oscar give you the ham sandwich he was carrying in his suitcase last Tuesday?
_Viv: _Yes Henry, he gave me that._

I have tried hard to think of an example where 'he gave me that' is acceptable but actually it still sounds strange to my ears. Sorry!  
Can anyone think of a better example?


----------



## fernandotorres

cuchuflete said:


> Thread topic:  He *gave me it,* would you use it?
> 
> Two questions:
> 
> 1. Why do so many people keep mixing 'gave me it' with 'gave it me'?
> 
> 2.  Why is it _terrible English_?  I agree it is not customary for many of us, me included, and therefore
> sounds odd to us, but what precisely is wrong with it, other than the effect it has on those of us who are not used to hearing &quot;He gave me it&quot;?   It may in fact be terrible English, or it may simply be
> an unfamiliar construction.  Please help me understand the fault.



It is because there are no two ways about it,it is not because it is unheard of or unfamiliar,it is simply incorrect and unacceptable.


----------



## badgrammar

Fernando, I agree with you, atleast as far as _standard modern English_ is concerned...  But then we have seen here many examples of these structures being used by well-respected authors of the English language.

We must always remember that languages are not built of static and unchanging truths, like a mathematical equation.  They are in constant evolution and it is common use, not prescriptive grammar, that tends to dictate how languages will evolve.


----------



## Loob

fernandotorres said:


> It is because there are no two ways about it,it is not because it is unheard of or unfamiliar,it is simply incorrect and unacceptable.


 
Here's gave me it from the BBC; and here's gave it me from author Beryl Bainbridge.....

Loob

_EDIT: apologies, Terry Morti - I see you'd already posted the Beryl Bainbridge link_


----------



## panjandrum

Despite the assertions that "He gave me it," is wrong, incorrect, or whatever absolute word you may choose, I haven't yet seen an explanation.

I'm still at the point where it sounds completely alien and I wouldn't use it, but so far there doesn't appear to be any satisfactory ending to the sentence:
*"He gave me it," is incorrect English because ... ... ...*

This is not a question of prescriptive/descriptive or current/ancient or static/dynamic.
It's just a simple question, why?


----------



## mother earth

Never hear it, never use it.
You need the preposition!


----------



## Packard

panjandrum said:


> Despite the assertions that "He gave me it," is wrong, incorrect, or whatever absolute word you may choose, I haven't yet seen an explanation.
> 
> I'm still at the point where it sounds completely alien and I wouldn't use it, but so far there doesn't appear to be any satisfactory ending to the sentence:
> *"He gave me it," is incorrect English because ... ... ...*
> 
> This is not a question of prescriptive/descriptive or current/ancient or static/dynamic.
> It's just a simple question, why?


 

If, "He gave me syphillis." is correct, then "He gave me it." should be too.


----------



## mother earth

I was referring to 'he gave it me'


----------



## Packard

mother earth said:


> I was referring to 'he gave it me'


 
I can't help you with that. The very first time I ever encountered "he gave it me" was in this forum. It sounds very, very wrong to me.

Pigeon [Pidgin] English, if you ask me.

Go you there?

Where place?

No have here.

Give it me.


----------



## fernandotorres

badgrammar said:


> Fernando, I agree with you, atleast as far as _standard modern English_ is concerned...  But then we have seen here many examples of these structures being used by well-respected authors of the English language.
> 
> We must always remember that languages are not built of static and unchanging truths, like a mathematical equation.  They are in constant evolution and it is common use, not prescriptive grammar, that tends to dictate how languages will evolve.



I agree with you,but it should be kept in mind that even the celebrated authors which you are referring to used it in reported speech.It is acceptable if you use it in conversation as you will be perfectly understood,but when it comes to writing,you can`t take any liberties with grammar[unless , of course you are writing a dialogue]


----------



## cuchuflete

fernandotorres said:


> I agree with you,but it should be kept in mind that even the celebrated authors which you are referring to used it in reported speech.It is acceptable if you use it in conversation as you will be perfectly understood,but when it comes to writing,*you can`t take any liberties with grammar*[unless , of course you are writing a dialogue]




I now repeat a question that has been asked many times by more than one person in this thread.

It has not been answered yet.

What rule or rules of grammar are violated by "He gave me it"?

Those who don't feel at ease with that syntax have my agreement.
Those who dislike the sound of it have my sympathy.

Those who insist on calling it "wrong" and "incorrect" have yet to explain what is wrong or incorrect about it.  Repeating an accusation over and over again, without any supporting logic, is not persuasive.


----------



## fernandotorres

cuchuflete said:


> I now repeat a question that has been asked many times by more than one person in this thread.
> 
> It has not been answered yet.
> 
> What rule or rules of grammar are violated by &quot;He gave me it&quot;?
> 
> Those who don't feel at ease with that syntax have my agreement.
> Those who dislike the sound of it have my sympathy.
> 
> Those who insist on calling it &quot;wrong&quot; and &quot;incorrect&quot; have yet to explain what is wrong or incorrect about it.  Repeating an accusation over and over again, without any supporting logic, is not persuasive.



  I would like to clarify that nobody can claim to be omniscient of the arcane rules of english grammar.I would like to quote my English teacher  here "Children,grammar in a way is like mathematics"What she wanted to  drive home was the fact that we could take as many liberties as we wished while writing the rest of the paper,but when it came to solving the grammar part,we had to be spot on.So,if something sounds wrong,it has to be wrong,there can be no  two ways about it.


----------



## JamesM

fernandotorres said:


> So,if something sounds wrong,it has to be wrong,there can be no two ways about it.


 
Oh, my goodness!  So, the fact that for many people "It is I" _sounds_ wrong makes it wrong, even though it is grammatically correct?

I don't think this axiom will ever work in the world of grammar.

I agree with Cuchuflete.  If it cannot be explained why it is wrong, it falls into the "personal opinion" category for me.  To declare it wrong _universally_ because it sounds wrong _to me _would be exceedingly arrogant, in my opinion.

"He gave me it" follows all the grammar conventions I know.  It's not the most melliflous construction, but it works, as far as I know.  If you cannot prove otherwise, then I think we are dealing with someone's personal opinion that has been self-elevated to grammatical rule.


----------



## Packard

cuchuflete said:


> ...Those who insist on calling it "wrong" and "incorrect" have yet to explain what is wrong or incorrect about it. Repeating an accusation over and over again, without any supporting logic, is not persuasive.


 
I think they will have to yell louder.  Megaphones can be persuasive.

I agree with you that they have not presented a logical case objecting to this construction. 

I disagree that it sounds wrong.  It sounds fine in our neck of the woods.

He gave me it.

He showed me it.

He poured me it.

He fed me it.

He told me it.

He sold me it.

He rented me it.

He loaned me it.


These all sound coloquial and correct to me.


----------



## roxcyn

Thank you for your replies, I think I have enough information:

He gave me it: Yes (certain regions only in AmE, BE, and possibly other dialects)
He gave it me: Yes (in BE)
He gave it to me: Yes (Acceptable in all dialects)

Why is "He gave me it" correct?

Let's take: "Did he give you the key?" for example.

Yes, he gave me the key.  Yes, he gave me it.
What did he give you?  The key / It.
Who gave you it?  He gave it to me. 

Basically you are replacing the noun with "it".

Yes, he gave the key to me.  Yes, he gave it me.  
What did he give you?
It / The key.
Who gave it to you?
He did.  

Basically, this construction is deleting the "to" between the verb.


----------



## cuchuflete

Still seeking understanding, rather than assertions of taste...


She gave me _pronoun.
_She gave me those.She gave me these.
She gave me this.
She gave me that.
​None of those violate any rule of grammar I am aware of, and none sounds strange to me.
I can imagine contexts in which all would be used.

What, other than habit and custom, makes the use of the pronoun "it" wrong in place of any
of the other pronouns?

I often counsel learners that a particular sentence or phrase may be grammatically correct, while not sounding idiomatic.
Is that what we are dealing with here?


----------



## roxcyn

Packard said:


> I can't help you with that. The very first time I ever encountered "he gave it me" was in this forum. It sounds very, very wrong to me.
> 
> Pigeon [Pidgin] English, if you ask me.
> 
> Go you there?
> 
> Where place?
> 
> No have here.
> 
> Give it me.



Obviously, people have posted the links in reference to British English, so they use that structure there.  Perhaps it sounds weird to you, but then again people on here were saying "gave me it" sounded strange to them


----------



## panjandrum

fernandotorres said:


> I would like to clarify that nobody can claim to be omniscient of the arcane rules of english grammar.I would like to quote my English teacher  here "Children,grammar in a way is like mathematics"What she wanted to  drive home was the fact that we could take as many liberties as we wished while writing the rest of the paper,but when it came to solving the grammar part,we had to be spot on.So,if something sounds wrong,it has to be wrong,there can be no  two ways about it.


I really, really don't like having to go on about this.  But no one has produced anything to back up the assertion that "He gave it me" is wrong.  Plenty of opinion, no back-up.

As I've said several times already, I don't like it, I wouldn't say or write it, but as far as I can see there is nothing ungrammatical about it.  I am hoping that someone can post an explanation, with support, that is moderately convincing one way or the other.


----------



## mother earth

If 'he gave me it' is correct, which has been agreed, and it means that..to me he gave it; then 'he gave it me' means that ...to IT he gave me.


----------



## LV4-26

Packard said:


> He gave me it.
> He showed me it.
> He poured me it.
> He fed me it.
> He told me it.
> He sold me it.
> He rented me it.
> He loaned me it.
> 
> These all sound coloquial and correct to me.


Are  you sure the analogy with _tell _really works?_
- How do you know?
(a) John told me.
(b) John told me it.
(c) John told it to me.
_In my opinion, only (a) would be used here.
However, we could perhaps imagine saying :
_- Do you know the story of Snow White?
- Yes, my mother told it to me (/told me it)
_But I don't think there are many occasions when you could say that.

As Packard nicely illustrated, the problem is not restricted to _give_.
Other verbs like _show_, _loan,_ etc... (regarding _tell,_ I'm not sure as I tried to show just above)


			
				cuchuflete said:
			
		

> What, other than habit and custom, makes the use of the pronoun "it" wrong in place of any
> of the other pronouns?


I don't think "_it_" is the only pronoun concerned.
See  :
_He showed her to me
_versus_
He showed me *her.*_

As I said in my first post, there's a problem with any *personal pronoun* in this position.


----------



## AWordLover

Hi All,

I completely agree with mother earth,



> If 'he gave me it' is correct, which has been agreed, and it means that..to me he gave it; then 'he gave it me' means that ...to IT he gave me.


 
The alien was about to destroy the earth and demanded a tribute. My father saved the world, *he gave it me*. Satisfied, the creature decided to spare us all.

I almost always use, he gave it to me. I sometimes use he gave me it. Now I've made a sentence with he gave it me, but I can't make it mean the same as the other two expressions.


----------



## cuchuflete

mother earth said:


> If 'he gave me it' is correct, which has been agreed, and it means that..to me he gave it; then 'he gave it me' means that ...to IT he gave me.



The logic of this escapes me. 

Subject -past simple verb-indirect object-object:  he gave me it

This doesn't mean the same thing as 

preposition+object of prepostion- subject-past simple verb-object. = to it he gave me

You are mixing up "me" as the indirect object in the first sentence with "me" as the object in the second sentence.

Please explain the transformation.


----------



## JamesM

LV4-26 said:


> Are you sure the analogy with _tell _really works?
> _- How do you know?_
> _(a) John told me._
> _(b) John told me it._
> _(c) John told it to me._
> In my opinion, only (a) would be used here.


 
Not for the sake of argument, but for clarification, "John told me it" could work if the question had something the "it" could refer to.

"How do you find out what his secret password was?"
"John told me it."


_



			He showed her to me
		
Click to expand...

_


> versus _He showed me *her.*_


 
This is a _very_ interesting example, in my opinion. "He showed me her" does not communicate the same information to me as "He showed her me". (This construction is similar to "he gave me it" and "he gave it me".) 

In "he showed me her", she is the object on display; in "he showed her me", I am the object on display.

I wonder if the "he gave it me" construction is only used with "it" in the third position. I can't think of any example I've seen where "it" wasn't the third word. [edit] Correction - I've just googled hundreds of examples of "gave them me", so there goes THAT theory.


----------



## AWordLover

Hi All,

Hi cuchu,



> If 'he gave me it' is correct, which has been agreed, and it means that..to me he gave it; then *'he gave it me'* means that ...to IT he gave me.


 
I think in your last post you changed "he gave it me" to "he gave me it" accidentally. After that it is impossible to see the reasoning.


----------



## cuchuflete

AWordLover said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Hi cuchu,
> 
> 
> 
> I think in your last post you changed "he gave it me" to "he gave me it" accidentally. After that it is impossible to see the reasoning.



Thanks WordLover.  I'll have a look.  If I screwed it all up, I'll copy/paste/and correct in a new post.


----------



## LV4-26

I think this might be of some interest in the discussion.
Especially the paragraph before last.
It doesn't answer the "why" question, though.


----------



## cuchuflete

mother earth said:


> If  (1)'he gave me it' is correct, which has been agreed, and it means that..(2)to me he gave it; then (3) 'he gave it me' means that ...(4)to IT he gave me.


Numbering added.

Trying again.  

(1) He gave me it=  subj. + simple past verb + indirect object + direct object
(2) prep.+object of prep. phrase +subj. + simple past verb + direct object.

That works as described by mother earth.

(3) subj. (He) + direct obj. (it) + indirect object (me)
(4) prep. + object of prep. phrase (IT)  + subj.(he) +simple past verb (gave) + direct object (me)

In going from (3) to (4), 'me' is transformed from an indirect object to a direct object.  I don't see the logic that makes (3) and (4) equivalent to (1) and (2), in which everything is constant except
the shift of the indirect object to a prepositional phrase which serves the same purpose.


----------



## JamesM

Hmm... I'm trying to follow your mapping, Cuchu, but I'm not quite getting it. Here's what I see as the gist of Mother Earth's idea:


He gave me it = He gave it to me
He gave it me = He gave me to it

In other words, if "he gave me it" seems like the "normal" construction, "He gave X Y" is the equivalent of "He gave Y to X." 

If you say "he gave me it" is the same as "he gave it to me" then the third word is the indirect object. If you apply exactly the same rules to "he gave it me", you get "he gave me to it" which reverses the meaning of the sentence.

What I think doesn't work about this argument is the assumption of an identical syntax.   It's the same trap I fall into with "he showed me her" and "he showed her me".  I can only see one syntax as the "correct" syntax.  I think "he gave it me" is simply a different syntactical construction that parallels "he gave it (to) me" but drops the "to".


----------



## AWordLover

Hi All,

It looks like many of us fell into the trap of thinking "he gave it me", should mean something different from "he gave me it". LV4's nice post tells us that these lexical transformations and clear logic are trumped by local usage.

English is a queer duck.


----------



## JamesM

I also think this link is very useful. It discusses alternate syntaxes and the tendency of language to prefer one over the others to the point that only one becomes the correct one. From what we've discussed here and from what this author says, I think "he gave me it", "he gave it to me" and "he gave it me" are alternate constructions still in the process of being sorted out and eliminated.

http://books.google.com/books?id=ymAYoabOG5YC&pg=RA1-PA189&lpg=RA1-PA189&dq=%22he+gave+it+me%22+%22he+gave+me+it%22+%22he+gave+it+to+me%22&source=web&ots=gk0F1RQd1I&sig=wnuT-2dEzCygG7n2HPWNff3F9GU


----------



## cuchuflete

Thanks James.  Now I get it.

The first pair,  He gave me it = He gave it to me, makes sense to me.  (It also happens to be the original topic of this thread.)

The same rules, if applied to "He gave it me" creates a sentence with a totally different meaning.  But, is
that really why some speakers say "He gave it me" rather than "He gave it *to* me"?  

I don't think the usages are parallel at all, and thus the attempt to carry the 'rules' from one to another, while
obviously creating a lexical mess, isn't logical in the first place.
_
He gave me it_ is, for those English speakers who use it, an obvious attempt to say what most of us mean by
_He gave it to me_.   _He gave it me_ is obviously another, different way to attempt to convey the exact same meaning, dropping the preposition "to" in speech.

Mother earth is correct in pointing out the anomaly that results from analyzing both pairs with the same logic,
but the speech patterns are different, so I'm not sure what we gain from looking at them this way.


The potential flaws of _He gave it me_ don't make _He gave me it_ any better or worse.


----------



## JamesM

Yes. I agreed with you, although I may not have made that very clear. That was the intention of my last paragraph in #83.  (I may have tacked that on as an edit after I posted and while you were composing a post.)


----------



## LV4-26

Another web page. It says :


> Every sentence in the list is grammatical in some non-standard dialect.


_Give it me _and _give me it_ respectively appear in examples #137 and 138.
As pointed out, _give it me_ is taken in the sense of _give it to me_, not in the sense of _give me to it_, which is admittedly unlikely.


----------



## panjandrum

The Oxford English Grammar says this of verbs that take a direct and indirect object:


> "... when there are two objects ... the first object being indirect and the second direct."
> "... the indirect object comes after the verb."
> "When both objects are present, the indirect object comes before the direct object."


He gave me <indirect object> it <direct object>.
That sentence conforms to the rules set out in OEG.

What about:
He gave it <direct object> me <indirect object>.
Again a quote from OEG:


> "The indirect object can generally be paraphrased by a phrase introduced by _to _or _for_, but that phrase follows the direct object."


Here, as explained above by others already, we assume the ellipsis of *to*.
He gave it <direct object> (to) me <indirect object>.

But how do we come to understand two conflicting meanings of:
He gave X Y.
He gave me it = he gave it to me - normal.
He gave it me = he gave it to me - colloquial.

Is it because we instinctively expect *me *to be the indirect object?
Could be.


----------



## fergy2005

roxcyn said:


> The scenario:
> 
> The key was on the table.
> 
> Now, the speaker or writer is going to say either of the following sentences:
> 
> He gave me it.
> 
> OR
> 
> He gave it to me.
> 
> 
> I believe some people have a preference over one form. Which form do you think is better for a formal writing? Are they both okay for formal writing? Are they both okay for speaking (informally or formally)?
> 
> Thank you.


she gave it to me


----------



## Loob

JamesM said:


> I also think this link is very useful. It discusses alternate syntaxes and the tendency of language to prefer one over the others to the point that only one becomes the correct one. From what we've discussed here and from what this author says, I think "he gave me it", "he gave it to me" and "he gave it me" are alternate constructions still in the process of being sorted out and eliminated.


 
I think James has got it absolutely right (though I couldn't follow the link). BrE - at least in some versions - appears to be in transition between "he gave it me" and "he gave me it" as alternatives to "he gave it to me". At this stage of the game, "he gave it me" sounds old-fashioned, while "he gave me it" would not be used in formal contexts, whether in speech or in writing. 

Loob


----------



## Terry Morti

fernandotorres said:


> It is because there are no two ways about it,it is not because it is unheard of or unfamiliar,it is simply incorrect and unacceptable.



If you refer back to my post 47 which quotes from _A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage _you will find that is just not the case. It is patently neither incorrect nor unacceptable.


----------



## panjandrum

Terry Morti said:


> I can't see any more from the snippet  here
> but under *Search in this book* from _A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage 1957_, it does say that the "he gave it me" construction is "impossible to American ears. But it has been standard in England for centuries and is used in the King James bible (for example, Exodus 23:30). To English ears, the american _to _as in _he gave it to me, _sounds like an affectation, a would-be elegance..."
> 
> Tantalisingly I can see no more, than  this image.


Now that you've reminded us about this - I went to see how, exactly, the KJV uses "he gave it me".
It doesn't!
Exodus 23:30 - _By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land._
I can't find either "he gave it me" or "gave it me" in the KJV (not that I've just read it cover to cover).

I wonder is it possible that the snippet you quoted is not in fact referring to this phrase at all?
The only text I can read from the snippet is the red section above.


----------



## Terry Morti

LV4-26 said:


> I think this might be of some interest in the discussion.
> Especially the paragraph before last.
> It doesn't answer the "why" question, though.



That's the one I linked to in message 21!


----------



## cuchuflete

I tried a concordance and found this:



> EXODUS 32
> 24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they *GAVE IT ME*: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.


http://cgi.godsview.com/cgi-bin/rcdenig/pdverse.pl?file=17428&occ=0


----------



## panjandrum

Interestingly, and getting back to the original question about "he gave me it", the source Terry Morti has found says the following 


> When a verb is followed by two personal pronouns, either form can be used as in _he gave me it_ and _he gave it to me_.  In this case the prepositional phrase is preferred.  In Great Britain neither of these constructions is used.  The rule there is: when both ...
> *Source*


That makes a great deal of sense to me - apart from the comment about GB usage.  Unfortunately, the above is all you get


----------



## Terry Morti

panjandrum said:


> Now that you've reminded us about this - I went to see how, exactly, the KJV uses "he gave it me".
> It doesn't!
> Exodus 23:30 - _By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land._
> I can't find either "he gave it me" or "gave it me" in the KJV (not that I've just read it cover to cover).
> 
> I wonder is it possible that the snippet you quoted is not in fact referring to this phrase at all?
> The only text I can read from the snippet is the red section above.



I'm fairly sure it is, if you go to the main page I gave (not just the image) you will see the search term in the box the words are then highlighted in the image.
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UHIYAAAAIAAJ&q="he+gave+it+me"&dq="he+gave+it+me"&pgis=1

But you're right they have got the verse wrong "Exodus 32:24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they *gave it me*: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf."

Either way, this bit "To English ears, the american _to _as in _he gave it to me, _sounds like an affectation, a would-be elegance..." is clear and readable.


----------



## panjandrum

Indeed, and apologies to all for my failure to find "gave it me" in my search. I'll have to work out why later.
The bit about English ears is very odd.  I certainly have no sense of that _to _being an American _to _- or being an affectation or a would-be elegance.  Of course my ears aren't English ... ...


----------



## Terry Morti

Interestingly "gave it me" v "gave me it" given as an example of a google fight regarding standard and non-standard English on an English Language teaching site.
http://www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?catid=59798&docid=154485


> A Google fight can be a very good way of demonstrating the difference in frequency of use. Here are some examples:
> 
> “he gave me it”     10,900 hits
> “he gave it me”     9,730 hits


 I tried this:
 "gave it me" 50,300 results
 "gave it to me" 896,000 results
"gave me it" 93,400 results
http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=%22gave+it+me%22&word2=%22gave+it+to+me%22

I can't say my English ears find the _to_ affected or particularly American either! But I don't have a problem with "gave it me".


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## Loob

Time to stop?

Loob


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