If grammar really did have a police department, I would be head of the force. Lately, my judgment of grammar has been worse than ever. The thing that irks me the most currently is the misuse of the pronouns “I” and “me.” I have to bite my tongue whenever it’s misused in my presence which is numerous times a day. It is such a commonly misused pronoun and I have a way for you to NEVER make the mistake again. Here is an email I received recently:
Jacqui –
Thank you for taking the time to meet with Mike and I. It was our pleasure hosting you.
This email sent shivers down my spine – it was from the CEO of a hugely successful company. If only someone told him to proof his email by removing the proper noun, in this case, “Mike” and read it. If it doesn’t make sense, which it doesn’t (Thank you for taking the time to meet with I) you have the wrong pronoun. This simple trick is easy and can be applied to any and all of the “I” versus “me” sentences. Clearly the email should have read
Jacqui –
Thank you for taking the time to meet with Mike and me OR me and Mike.
Remove the Mike this time and it still makes sense (Thank you for taking the time to meet with me).
Yesterday I was talking to my friend and she said – “John and me are going to the park later.”
LET’S DISSECT – I wanted to say – if you were going to the park alone would you say:
Me is going to the park later or I am going to the park later? Take John out of the equation and you realize how grammatically incorrect that sentence is.
Later that day, that same friend texted me and said – “The park was empty, it was just John and I.”
LET’S DISSECT – I wanted to say – If you were alone at the park would you say:
The park was empty, it was just I or The park was empty, it was just me.
Former President Obama misused I versus me in a speech once and I almost shouted at the television. It’s common to hear it on reality shows and newscasters but the president?
Since we are on the topic – here are a few publications/companies/famous people that need new social media managers based on these typos.
