"Have Confused You" vs "Have You Confused"

[Dr. HotSalt]

Recently I remarked that I had assumed that one person had said something in the past since it was similar to other things that person had said, whereas it was actually someone else who had said it. My phrasing was:

"I must have you confused with someone else".

Later, I wondered whether that was "correct" or if I should have said:

"I must have confused you with someone else."

Of course, literal interpretations of both versions would be:

"I must have used someone else to confuse you."

which is not at all what I meant.

Yes, I could have been much clearer by saying that I had conflated the identities of the speakers, but that would have been unnecessarily formal.

Am I overthinking this?


Dr. HotSalt

[Katy Jennison]

Yes, I think you're over-thinking it. Both versions seem perfectly
clear and unexceptionable.

--
Katy Jennison

[Mark Brader]

We are asked about:

> "I must have you confused with someone else".

> "I must have confused you with someone else."

Both are correct. The second version describes the process (and
"have confused" is the verb) while the first describes the result
(and "have" is the verb and "confused" is an adjective).
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "...what kind of mind has a steel trap got anyway?"
m...@vex.net | --Lawrence Block, "The Burglar in the Library"