why does Elmo refer to himself in the third person, but speak gramatically as if he were talking in first p?

when referring to a subject in the second or third person, it is customary to use a predicate that follows suit where necessary, as in one that implements a second or third person suffix. The only exception to this would be perhaps when referring to more than one person, for instance "those people EAT oatmeal for breakfast," which uses the singular "eat" as opposed to the plural "eats", which would normally be used with second or third person. Having studied english extensively in college, I would assume this to be true even when referring to oneself using an auxiliary points of view. Nonetheless, I work at a thrift store, and there was a talking Elmo doll in there today which said, among other things "Elmo LOVE you" when a trigger was pressed.

Of course I did not find it unusual that he referred to himself in third person (as always), though this is something I have always been curious about. What actually had me confused was his use of a first person singular clau;se in combination with a third person subjective reference, which I realized was not an appropriate corresponding reference. With that said, why does that Elmo doll, and I'm assuming Elmo (him)self, use an inappropriate grammatical connection by referring to himself in the third person, yet speaking otherwise as if he were talking in first person?

?2011-05-03T21:23:57Z

Favorite Answer

Elmo has a form of Yoda-itis

Anonymous2011-05-04T04:24:27Z

That is the best question all night. The answer is thus; the makers of sesame street have a working idea of what a 5 year old sounds like.

?2011-05-05T03:49:38Z

Elmo is a, rather annoying, impersonation they have of how a 4 year old talks.

Classical Liberal Jochan2011-05-04T04:23:09Z

Did you seriously put that much thought into a Sesame Street character?

Anonymous2011-05-04T04:23:08Z

Are you steppin to elmo?

Show more answers (4)