
Today I want to talk about me. No, I don’t mean me, Dean, I mean the objective pronoun me versus the nominative pronoun I. One of the most common errors in speech and writing is to use I where me should be.
Here’s the general rule in the simplest terms: Use I as the subject of a sentence or clause and me as the object of a sentence or clause.
Let me give some examples of the incorrect use of these pronouns:
- “People gave my wife and I four toasters for wedding presents.” (incorrect)
- “One of the best things to happen to Gary and I is that we became best friends.” (incorrect)
Here’s why both are incorrect: the pronoun I is virtually always used in the nominative case, as the subject of a sentence or clause, not the object. The objective pronoun is me. Replace I with me in both sentences:
- “People gave my wife and me four toasters for wedding presents.” (correct)
- “One of the best things to happen to Gary and me is that we became best friends.” (correct)
Here’s an easy test to use when you’re not sure: Continue reading “Between You and I, We’ve Got a Problem!”