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Sunday, June 29, 2008

Grammar Police - I vs. me

I have a feeling this will be a recurring theme - but hopefully an educational event!

This one is a huge pet peeve of mine... you see it misused everywhere and by everyone!!!
Today's lesson: when to use I and when to use me.

When making a caption on a picture or talking about an event involving yourself and others, it is often confusing as to the best way to refer to oneself. Here is how to decipher between I and me...

A good test is to say the sentence using only the singular pronoun you are using to refer to yourself.... you would say "that's me on the top of the mountain" so at the same time you would say "that's Bob and me on top of the mountain." The adverse to this would be to say that's I on the mountain, consequently, you would not say that's Bob and I on the mountain...

Here's the example from the Chicago Manual of Style - feel free to use this link or ask me directly for any grammar questions!
Pronouns
Q. I am having trouble deciding if it is “Page and I” or “Page and me” in “Please let Page and me know.”
A. “Me” is correct, because it’s the object of the verb “let.” When you’re having trouble with “I” vs. “me,” try the same sentence without the double object: Please let me know. (You wouldn’t even consider saying “Please let I know.”) The reason “Page and me” sounds odd is that we’ve had it hammered into our brains for so long that “Page and I” is the correct usage when the phrase is the subject of a sentence (“Page and I are going,” not “me and Page are going”). People seem to have developed a fear of the “Page and me” construction. But when it’s the object of a verb or a preposition, it’s correct: Call Page and me when you’re ready. Give the money to Page and me.

2 comments:

Robiana said...

my favorite peeves are misuse of their, there, and they're or your and you're. Grr...

Unknown said...

I just posted a myspace blog about this! I hate when people try to sound educated by putting the pronoun "I" or "me" last (which is correct) but do it wrong because they choose the wrong prounoun!!!