It's everywhere, and it makes me cringe (at the least) or shout (at the most) whenever I hear, or - even worse - see it: the I/me pitfall.
When I was young, the worst grammar mistake we could make was probably saying something along the lines of "Me and Tonya went to school" or the slightly less scandalous "Tonya and me went to school." I mean, everyone knows not to say that!
Sadly, drilling this into school children's heads without ever making sure they knew the underlying grammatical logic has turned us into a nation of people saying things like, "She went to business school with Max and I" (AHHHHHHHhhhhhhh!!! Cringe, cringe) in an effort to use "correct" grammar. The worst is when I hear news anchors or characters (who should know better) on TV shows perpetuating this travesty of proper speech.
Obviously, there's confusion on this point. And the kicker is that people who sincerely want to use correct grammar often fail, accidentally, when it comes to this particular issue.
Going back to cases (the various forms of a particular word that indicate its grammatical function) and understanding when to use which case of a word is a guard against this - and many - questions of grammar.
Both I and me are first person singular pronouns. The difference is that I is a subject pronoun and me is an object pronoun. In simple terms, we use I when I am the one doing the action of the sentence and me when the action is being done to or with me.
So:
"I am going to the movie with Crystal and my friends."
"My friends and I are going to the movie with Crystal."
"Crystal is going to the movie with my friends and ME."
To drive the point home:
"Mom told Jerry and me the secret password."
"Daniel took her and me to the fabric store."
You can "test" your usage by taking the other people out of the sentence. For instance, you'd never say "Crystal is going to the movie with I" or "Daniel took I to the fabric store."
I could go on, but I think it's clear now. Yes? Please send any questions regarding this or other grammar situations my way. I'd be thrilled to rant about their answers.
feeling slightly better now that you've released some steam? =)
ReplyDeletelove the writing, laughed out loud.
Thanks for writing this! I always have trouble getting these two pronouns straight. Doesn't seem important, but it does make a difference in how intelligent one sounds. Not to mention this is basic stuff that few grasp.
ReplyDeleteThrilled about this blog! The other day I wrote a thank you letter for a 2-star general, and someone proofreading told me to change the wording -- which was CORRECT, because I am a GRAMMAR FREAK -- because it "didn't sound right." I think this post is a perfect example of why you shouldn't always rely on how things sound. There are rules, people!
ReplyDeleteLove it Shifrah! When I was growing up my dad would never ever let this slip. If I said "Me and Joe went to the store," he would say, "who?" and keep asking who until I corrected my sentence. Hahaha. So now it is really drilled into me!
ReplyDeleteYay!!! It took my Sweetie to finally address this egregious attempt to speak correctly! A close second is "shoulda went," but this is so obviously lacking in the, shall we say ... effort. Can't wait to read your next outrage or rant or ....
ReplyDeleteIan always grumbles when we correct about, "me and Truman are going to ..." but I am sure he will thank us someday! As I do with my own faithfully nagging mom ...
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