Wrong again. The answer can never be him.
Oh, I get it:
Proper English
Q: Who was awake last night? A: He.
Improper English:
Q: Who was awake last night? A: Him.
Thanks, man.
You are thinking in the shortened one word answers, but forgetting what they are shortened from.
They are not shortened, they are pronouns. Pronouns take the place of nouns. It's a substitution, not an abbreviation.
Q: Who punched that big hole in the wall? A: Bob
is the linguistically the same as
Q: Who punched that big hole in the wall? A: Him (pointing at Bob)
It might be kind of common to say “him” in response to the example question above, but it’s just wrong. The answer should be “he did” (pointing at Bob). However, were the question “who was it?”, for example, the answer can definitely be “it was him” or “him” (pointing at Bob). Because it and him are objects in this case.
Anyway, I know what you mean, kinda. It’s just wrong usage that many people might have, unfortunately, gotten used to.
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