pronouns - Yes, this is she. Who's calling?



I've read in a book that I should "use the subjective case if the pronoun is the complement of the linking verb to be".


That is the following sentences are correct:


They believed that the thief was I. / Hey, it's I. / Yes, this is she. Who's calling?


OK, a rule is a rule. I don't mind using it, but I have a question for native speakers:


Is this way to say it heard in everyday speech? Will it sound deliberate/unnatural if I use it?




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