Still confused about the whole “me” or “I” thing, I see.
Listen, just slapping “I” in every sentence where there is a need for a pronoun for you isn’t going to make you seem smarter, my friend.
It will make you seem just the opposite to those who know the rules…
So what is the rule when it comes to “me” versus “I” usage?
Grammatically speaking, when you are the subject of a sentence, use “I.” When you are the object of a sentence, use “me.”
Yeah, I know… so what that means for you and me in plain English/American:
Simply take out the other name(s), noun(s), or pronoun(s) listed in the sentence with you and use whichever pronoun for you (I or me) you would normally use in the same sentence without them.
For instance:
A copy was given to Rick, Steve, and (me/I).
Copy is the subject. The people are the objects.
Without Rick and Steve in the sentence we would easily know to say:
A copy was given to me.
So, the correct sentence would read:
A copy was given to Rick, Steve, and me.
Another example:
Betty, Jane, and (me/I) are going to the library.
The three people are the subjects.
Without Betty and Jane, we of course would say:
I am going to the library.
So, the correct sentence would read:
Betty, Jane, and I are going to the library.
Piece of cake, right?
Of course it is. But that means you’ll have think (to do the grammar math) first before you speak so that may continue to cause you/us some problems.
Anyway…
Follow this simple grammar hack and you and me will get along just fine, my friend.
😉
me
I see what you did in that last line, lol…
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Great advice!
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Wonderful hack, it really makes ME think twice!!
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I love it! I am the worst for grammar. Thanks!
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Oh geez Louise, myself sometimes puts ‘yer’ instead of ‘you’ / ‘innit’ instead of ‘isn’t it’ but “ahem” when it comes to ‘shit’ I do prefer to add the airs and graces of the letter E at the end making it “shite”. 😀 {{{giggles}}}
Funny. 🙂
Life is fun~~ny if we look for the cracks on the paved crazy.
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Thank you! This is the way I was taught. Now if we could just get them to quit saying “myself”!
I wasn’t about to take that on as well. 🙂
In bonny Scotland myself is “mesen”, but oh poor Kurt’s “heid isnee aboot tae tak at oan an aw, he’ll be awfy wabbit efter ‘at”. 😀 {{{giggles}}}
My Midwestern-speak seems so boring compared to all the cool accents and dialects out there. 🙂
Trust me when I say: All kindness communicated will always win hands down in any accent.
I may not be regarded as such, then. I’ve seen headlines recently that claim studies show that those who correct other’s grammar are pretty much jerks and tend to have fewer friends. 🙂
You could be right, people do tend to call each other names and in any case I will let others call me a jerk as I correct some people’s grammar and I tend to not care much about having numerous friends, but a few good ones who can share how they feel. So sweetheart, do you need to put a few more commas in that last comment < see I can be a jerk about punctuation too, innit, aye? {{{giggles]}}
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I and Velma ain’t dumb!
That’s the line that always comes to mind when I think of hyper-correction… of course it also ages me completely. Ha!
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and with age, wisdom strolls arm in arm.
Now, travel upstate to coal country or to K&A in Philly and sort out “seen” and “saw”.
My limited knowledge lies within the grammatical bounds of Midwest-speak. I’ll leave local grammar rules to the local yokels. 🙂
My husband and I like making fun of reality show stars who use “I” when they should be using “me.” Fun stuff. 😉
Easy pickin’ I would imagine. 🙂
Maybe next time you will post on the misuse of “myself”…Can hardly wait (sigh…) Sometimes it’s better to just not care about grammar anymore instead of getting annoyed by the bombardment of incorrect usage every day. But I can’t help myself. I’ve always cared. Wonderful book, probably long out of print, is Theodore Bernstein’s “The Careful Writer–A Modern Guide to English Usage”. He’s a delightful writer and makes me laugh at his clever explanations about proper usage.
I considered including “myself” but I figured baby steps would be the best approach. The book you recommend sounds like something that I would like. Thanks! 🙂
Grammar math – I love that! I hereby dub it my favorite phrase for the week. 😊
🙂