Q: Which usage is correct: it is me or it is I?

A: The correct usage is "it is I".

Whenever a pronoun follows any form of the verb "be", the pronoun takes the subject form.

Pronouns (subject form): I, we, you, he, she, it, they

Object forms of the above pronouns: me, us, you, him, her, it, them

Forms of the verb "be": is, am, are, was, were, will/shall/can/may + be, would/should/could/might + be, has/have/had + been, will/shall/can/may + have been, would/should/could/might + have been, etc.

Hence, "it is I", "it is she", "that is we", etc. are the correct usages.

Examples:

• It is I who did it.
• It is she (or he/they) I was waiting for.
• If it is we who should do it, we will do it.
• If it is they who should do it, they will do it.
• If one of our members is under attack, it is we who are under attack.

Q: I have often been confused with the usages "older than me" and "older than I". Although the former is widely used, official media use the latter. Please explain.

A: "Older than I" is the correct usage, although the latter is quite common in both written and spoken forms.

The general rule is to use the object form of a pronoun after a preposition. "Than", being a conjunction, is not bound by this rule. Therefore, in most cases, "than" is followed by the subject form of the pronoun. There is a case when the object form of the pronoun follows "than", which is explained later.

Tom is taller than I. (correct)
The longer forms of this sentence are: Tom is taller than I am and Tom is taller than I am tall. Usually, the longer forms are not used. If you look at the longer forms of the sentence, you can easily know that "I", and not "me", is to be used.

Examples:

• Christie is prettier than I.
• Davis is more intelligent than she.
• Their manager is more punctual than they.
• Our teacher is younger than we.

"Than" followed by object form:

(a) Anne loves Shane more than I. (correct)
(b) Anne loves Shane more than me. (correct)

How come?!
The complete form of sentence (a) is:
>> Anne loves Shane more than I love Shane.
The complete form of sentence (b) is:
>> Anne loves Shane more than Anne loves me.
     (Or, Anne loves Shane more than she loves me.)
Thus, both sentences are correct, but each has a different meaning.

Their short and commonly used forms...
(a) Anne loves Shane more than I.
and
(b) Anne loves Shane more than me.
...are both correct, but each has a different meaning.

Example:

• Alice visits Diana more often than he. (correct)
• Alice visits Diana more often than him. (correct)