 |
Grammar Grater®with Luke Taylor |
Episode 6: I Gotta Be Me
It's no one's fault, but the word me gets a bad rap.
An idea a lot of us carry over from our childhoods is that me is always incorrect. Who doesn't remember this scenario:
Now, I could natter endlessly about subjects and objects and bore everyone to tears. Instead, here's a quick test you can do to check the correctness of I versus me, and it flies in the face of the "politeness" logic: take your friend out of the sentence completely and see how it sounds. Here's how the test works:
Situation 1. "Is it all right if Tom and [I / me] go to the park?" Remove "Tom and" from this sentence and you have the following:
"Is it all right if I go to the park?" (Sounds good.)
or
"Is it all right if me go to the park?" (Sounds like Cookie Monster.)
Situation 2. "These apples are for Ned and [I / me]." Remove "Ned and" from this sentence and you have the following:
"These apples are for I." (Sounds creepy.)
or
"These apples are for me." (Sounds good.)
That's the test. It's a great little tool. Just be sure to leave an apple for Ned.
An idea a lot of us carry over from our childhoods is that me is always incorrect. Who doesn't remember this scenario:
YOU: Is it all right if me and Tom go to the park and play?Despite our parents' good intentions, the correction was often left unexplained. Therefore, it's easy to think that me is always wrong—and to conclude that this is based solely on politeness, i.e. allowing another's name to go first. Unfortunately, this misconception leads to constructions like this:
PARENT: Tom and I.
YOU: Is it all right if Tom and I go out and play?
These apples are for Ned and I.It turns out that in this second instance, it's correct to say, "These apples are for Ned and me." You could even put the "me" first and it would still be correct (shock! horror!).
Now, I could natter endlessly about subjects and objects and bore everyone to tears. Instead, here's a quick test you can do to check the correctness of I versus me, and it flies in the face of the "politeness" logic: take your friend out of the sentence completely and see how it sounds. Here's how the test works:
Situation 1. "Is it all right if Tom and [I / me] go to the park?" Remove "Tom and" from this sentence and you have the following:
"Is it all right if I go to the park?" (Sounds good.)
or
"Is it all right if me go to the park?" (Sounds like Cookie Monster.)
Situation 2. "These apples are for Ned and [I / me]." Remove "Ned and" from this sentence and you have the following:
"These apples are for I." (Sounds creepy.)
or
"These apples are for me." (Sounds good.)
That's the test. It's a great little tool. Just be sure to leave an apple for Ned.
Sources: Gregg Reference Manual and Bloomsbury Grammar Guide
Join the Discussion
Share your feedback at GrammarGrater.Gather.com.
Services
Sponsors
In The Spotlight
-
The Current Music Blog
Your daily note for good music, news and pop culture. With attempted jokes.
- Become a Member
- Member Connect Accounts
- Leadership Circle
- Sustaining Members
- Member Discounts
- Become a Sponsor
- Tax Information
- Planned Giving
- Vehicle Donation
- Donate Stock
Minnesota Public Radio ©2023 All rights reserved