TVs War on Me and I

TVs War on Me and I TVs War on Me and I TVs War on Me and I By Maeve Maddox Television scriptwriters or perhaps actors who are failing to read what has been written for themseem to be determined to reverse the functions of the pronouns I and me in American speech. Refresher I is the subject form of the first person personal pronoun. It stands for the person speaking. This subject form is used as the subject of a sentence: I am attending a conference in Chicago this week. Charles and I are attending the conference together. NOTE: The courteous way to construct a compound subject in which I is one of the subject words is to place the other person first: Charles and I are attending. He and I are attending. Purists may insist on It is I, but in conversation, most Americans say Its me. Its safe to say, therefore, that the ONLY time to use the pronoun I is as the subject of a sentence. Me is the object form of the first person personal pronoun. It is the receiver of an action or the object of a preposition. It is NEVER the subject of a verb. Examples: Direct object: Please invite me. Please invite Tommy and me. Indirect object: Give me the book. Give James and me the book. Object of preposition: Dads riding with me. (object of with) The children live with Sally and me. In writing fiction I know enough not to put the same grammar or vocabulary in the mouths of a child, a garage mechanic, an ESL learner, and a college professor. On the other hand, unless theres something about the characters personality to make him deliberately flout the rules of standard English, I would have a native English speaker who has completed at least eight years of formal education use the pronouns I and me correctly. I might put the construction Me and him went to the movies into the mouth of a privately-educated teenager who wanted to make his parents cringe, but I wouldnt give the line to an assistant district attorneyunless I meant for the reader to question her credibility. See what you think of these gleanings from Prime Time: Law and Order Him and Eric had words at the Baby Doll a young bank executive Did he ever confide in you what him and Kate have been going through? Detective Green Callng on Wong and I to attend Alexandra Borgia, Assistant District Attorney Cold Case Files Vic and him stopped talking as soon as she moved out. a fireman Without A Trace I was looking for a recent photo of Jimmy and I affluent, apparently educated girlfriend of a missing person Did he ever talk about a grudge between he and some of the guys? Jack Malone, senior FBI agent Numbers I made a reservation for Megan and I at an Ethiopian restaurant. Larry Fleinhardt, PhD Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Types of LanguageConfused Words #3: Lose, Loose, LossPassed vs Past