I still hear it everywhere, and I am sure you do too. Confusing I and me — still! It is mostly the I used instead of me that really gets me going. I am so used to people using me for a subject by now that it doesn’t have the impact it used to: “Me and Jimmy are going to the bar.” You wanna say it like that? Fine. Not my business. Well, actually it is my business…
But using I when it should be me because you think you sound so erudite — NO!
1 Between you and I, I think they will break up.
2 He split the pizza with her and I.
3 She gave my sister and I some of her clothes.
All of those I’s should be me’s.
“Grammartologically” speaking, me is used for the object of a preposition, or the object of a verb. I is a subject.
“Non-grammartologically” speaking, because usually the subject goes at the beginning of the sentence and the objects come later, I will come before me: a pronoun nearer the end of the sentence will usually be me, not I.
In example 1 above, it is the other way around. The first I should be me because it is the object of the preposition between. The I after the comma is the subject.
Example 2 is another example of the object of a preposition: the preposition with.
Example 3 shows indirect objects of gave. No one would say, “She gave we,” or “She gave I.” No different when there are two objects.
So now we all know.
To Donna Autrey:
Italian cannot be tricky under that point of view: its grammar is so “detailed” that you can’t confuse a subject with a complement (particularly if it is object), but you may have plenty of problems when you try to match subject and verbs or, even more, past participles.
I agree, though, that those people on TV should learn grammar: this happens in Italy, too. There are times when they get it so wrong that I turn the TV off. I believe that the problem is with teaching: even here, in Italy, grammar is not taught as it was, and students cannot tell the difference between an adverb and an adjective. Can you imagine their spoken and written English?
I am disappointed. I thought people with other languages spoke better. Grammar is not emphasized in English class here either. It was in mine when I taught, but I am sure the administration would have disapproved of me teaching so much grammar.
Ohhh yes, Arlene – all these examples grate on my “grammartological” ears too. Another one I’ve been hearing is the non-word “I’s,” as in “Come to John and I’s party.” Nooooo!!!
I’s??? Oh, that is bad!
Oh, thanks for giving this one the old ‘one two punch’. Everyone on TV says I now…instead of me. My mom would take the other person out and say, ..’it belongs to Tom and me, you wouldn’t say it belongs to Tom and I?’
We still have a lot to learn about English. Is Italian this tricky?
I wish those people on TV would learn grammar…maybe not everyone notices, but some of us do. Isn’t their job to speak correctly???
Thankfully, Italian’s a breeze compared to English. For the most part, spelling is phonetic, and pronunciation is straightforward (the vowels are pronounced “ah,” “eh,” “ee,” ohh,” “oo,” plus a few standardized diphthongs).
Not much is straightforward in English!
Me thinks you have made it understandable to myself. 🙂
Myself is very glad about that!
Usually just removing the cluttering words produces the right choice (e.g. 3 She gave .. me some of her clothes.).
Right! That is all you have to do!