Americans are generally ignorant about their "native" language. Our schools lack discipline and rigor (or rigour) and so entire generations of students don't even know the simplest grammar rules, like those dealing with pronouns.
For some reason, people can't decline two pronouns at the same time if one is "I" (or decline "I" when used together with a noun). The typical grammatical error of the past generation, along the lines of "Me and you went to the store", was corrected by teachers quite frequently: "No, say 'You and I went to the store.'"
However, the teachers were just too lazy, stupid or indifferent to continue the explanation of just WHY the previous example should be "Sally and I" instead of "Me and Sally". The conclusion many have come to (apparently), is that the proper form is "I" whenever there are two pronouns or "I" is used with a noun. This has led to some completely incorrect sentences, such as:
"For you and I, this is important."
"I don't know what they are going to do about you and I."
"He saw you and I, didn't he?"
Interestingly enough, the problem seems to be with "I", and only with "I". For some reason, people don't get the simple principle that "I" only appears as "I" when used as the subject of a sentence. As a direct object, indirect object or object of a preposition, it's always "me". I suspect that most of the people who make the mistake would not make it if the first person singular pronoun appeared by itself. I haven't heard, even once, sentences like:
"For I, this is important."
"I don't know what they are going to do about I."
"He saw I, didn't he?"
This error irritates me more than saying "hold down the fort".
For some reason, people can't decline two pronouns at the same time if one is "I" (or decline "I" when used together with a noun). The typical grammatical error of the past generation, along the lines of "Me and you went to the store", was corrected by teachers quite frequently: "No, say 'You and I went to the store.'"
However, the teachers were just too lazy, stupid or indifferent to continue the explanation of just WHY the previous example should be "Sally and I" instead of "Me and Sally". The conclusion many have come to (apparently), is that the proper form is "I" whenever there are two pronouns or "I" is used with a noun. This has led to some completely incorrect sentences, such as:
"For you and I, this is important."
"I don't know what they are going to do about you and I."
"He saw you and I, didn't he?"
Interestingly enough, the problem seems to be with "I", and only with "I". For some reason, people don't get the simple principle that "I" only appears as "I" when used as the subject of a sentence. As a direct object, indirect object or object of a preposition, it's always "me". I suspect that most of the people who make the mistake would not make it if the first person singular pronoun appeared by itself. I haven't heard, even once, sentences like:
"For I, this is important."
"I don't know what they are going to do about I."
"He saw I, didn't he?"
This error irritates me more than saying "hold down the fort".
Inspired by Camilla's post: quit saying "between you and I" already
20/05/2010 04:16:29 PM
- 984 Views
It isn't something I can recall really noticing
20/05/2010 04:22:42 PM
- 192 Views
You don't live in the United States of America.
20/05/2010 04:31:23 PM
- 174 Views
Well yes but me was just feeling smug it doesn't seem as common over here
20/05/2010 05:12:41 PM
- 156 Views
I think this is one of those things people do because they think it makes them sound smart.
20/05/2010 04:33:38 PM
- 204 Views
When in actuality it exposese their stupidity and ignorance. *NM*
20/05/2010 04:36:08 PM
- 102 Views
Like saying "octopi". <Shivers> *NM*
20/05/2010 11:56:27 PM
- 200 Views
Octopodes makes them sounds like aliens
21/05/2010 12:25:14 AM
- 290 Views
THEY ARE VICIOUS CREATURES FROM THE DEEP. CUTTLEFISH HAVE W SHAPED PUPILS. *NM*
21/05/2010 07:00:41 AM
- 195 Views
Actually nothing like that
21/05/2010 04:49:43 PM
- 148 Views
As a Classicist I'm afraid I can't get past the misguided origins. *NM*
21/05/2010 10:08:34 PM
- 202 Views
I don't know how me feels about this.
20/05/2010 04:49:03 PM
- 196 Views
you know, considering my state was THE lowest in the country for education...
20/05/2010 05:04:42 PM
- 206 Views
Dude, I could care less *NM*
20/05/2010 05:30:37 PM
- 186 Views
That annoys me, too
20/05/2010 05:34:30 PM
- 316 Views
I think you're confusing it with phrase-final prepositions. *NM*
20/05/2010 11:57:30 PM
- 193 Views
No
21/05/2010 12:00:02 AM
- 147 Views
Oh right, that two (pro)nouns linked by "and" have to be the same case.
21/05/2010 12:03:59 AM
- 369 Views
Re: Oh right, that two (pro)nouns linked by "and" have to be the same case.
21/05/2010 12:06:51 AM
- 388 Views
Er, no...
21/05/2010 12:19:31 AM
- 150 Views
Re: Er, no...
21/05/2010 12:22:32 AM
- 153 Views
It doesn't. The reason for that is exactly as Tom says: idiotic teachers. *NM*
21/05/2010 12:28:12 AM
- 187 Views
But that is what I said when you contradicted me! *NM*
21/05/2010 12:38:11 AM
- 197 Views
OK, I'm officially lost.
21/05/2010 12:44:28 AM
- 168 Views
Re: OK, I'm officially lost.
21/05/2010 12:49:59 AM
- 345 Views
Can you start right from the beginning?
21/05/2010 12:52:08 AM
- 159 Views
Re: Can you start right from the beginning?
21/05/2010 12:55:34 AM
- 155 Views
Coffee time is going to be appropriated by grammar discussion? Shall I bring a book? *NM*
21/05/2010 10:12:48 AM
- 190 Views
Not entirely. We just need to get a hold of Pratchett's Unseen Academicals on the way.
21/05/2010 11:25:57 AM
- 136 Views
This whole thread is just an elaborate effort to provoke my complaints about terminal prepositions.
21/05/2010 02:58:05 PM
- 273 Views
Re: Inspired by Camilla's post: quit saying "between you and I" already
20/05/2010 07:28:16 PM
- 265 Views
It doesn't annoy me, but I do fine myself silently correcting it when I hear it.
20/05/2010 07:44:49 PM
- 169 Views
It's the same as "I" vs. "me". "Who" can only be a subject. "Whom" is correct everywhere else.
20/05/2010 07:47:21 PM
- 370 Views
Well, shucks, Tom, we just ain't no good at that there grammer stuff.
20/05/2010 07:49:18 PM
- 182 Views
Not limited to the US of A.
20/05/2010 08:26:30 PM
- 355 Views
It's properly the "US and A" - if Borat taught me nothing else, it's that.
20/05/2010 08:46:18 PM
- 153 Views
If you're going to start down that path...
20/05/2010 10:12:24 PM
- 174 Views
<Winces at your use of the word "ungrammatical"> *NM*
21/05/2010 12:09:29 AM
- 210 Views
I take it the wincing is at the concept, and not at the word itself...
21/05/2010 12:32:43 AM
- 358 Views
It's the misappropriation of linguistic terminology to an improper use.
21/05/2010 12:44:54 AM
- 393 Views
I note you haven't replied to the main thread yet...
21/05/2010 01:12:05 AM
- 270 Views
Well of course that's wrong. It ought to be "The man whom you said that was coming." *NM*
21/05/2010 07:03:37 AM
- 71 Views
OK, I know you're kidding around, but I can't tell if you know it isn't even prescriptively correct.
21/05/2010 10:38:51 AM
- 141 Views
I can't draw you a syntax tree or what have you to prove that it's wrong, no, but I know it is.
22/05/2010 02:56:52 AM
- 140 Views
No trees necessary – this is lecture is 100% ecologically friendly.
22/05/2010 10:04:34 AM
- 330 Views
Clever clever. Explains why Greek changes the case in its indirect statements so much. *NM*
22/05/2010 09:47:26 PM
- 74 Views
Example please? *NM*
22/05/2010 10:34:05 PM
- 195 Views
Re: No trees necessary – this is lecture is 100% ecologically friendly.
22/05/2010 11:40:05 PM
- 251 Views
Re: No trees necessary – this is lecture is 100% ecologically friendly.
23/05/2010 10:30:59 AM
- 141 Views
Re: No trees necessary – this is lecture is 100% ecologically friendly.
23/05/2010 10:36:25 AM
- 259 Views
Cf pretty much every other European language, no?
23/05/2010 09:32:33 PM
- 121 Views
Yes, but when you're a native speaker of English it comes as something of a surprise.
23/05/2010 11:18:45 PM
- 132 Views
The thing is that you really have to know Old English to figure it out.
24/05/2010 03:22:10 AM
- 133 Views
Actually, that would be a direct object
21/05/2010 01:11:42 AM
- 143 Views
*blinks* Now I'm confused.
21/05/2010 01:21:51 AM
- 133 Views
I know it's odd, but in terse responses, it seems to be a direct object rather than nominative
21/05/2010 01:46:10 AM
- 140 Views
No it isn't...in that case it would be "me", and not "a cookie", that is wanted.
21/05/2010 04:28:55 AM
- 142 Views
Well...
21/05/2010 04:33:27 AM
- 340 Views
"I want me a cookie" is not proper English.
21/05/2010 04:38:20 AM
- 334 Views
I know that
21/05/2010 05:31:52 AM
- 260 Views
See, this is an area where your dialect argument would make sense.
21/05/2010 11:53:17 AM
- 255 Views
But that doesn't actually make any sense in Latin.
22/05/2010 03:03:28 AM
- 143 Views
I know it's dative in Latin
22/05/2010 03:14:48 AM
- 339 Views
Well, yes. But prepositions are how we decline our pronouns in English.
22/05/2010 04:35:42 AM
- 122 Views
And you would be wrong in that.
22/05/2010 02:27:16 PM
- 141 Views
Iċ am not sure what þū said me is relevant these days...
22/05/2010 09:57:41 PM
- 126 Views
You still just aren't getting this.
23/05/2010 12:52:31 AM
- 126 Views
I accept it. But not in the circumstances when the prepositional phrase "to/for me" is used. *NM*
23/05/2010 02:27:30 AM
- 73 Views
You're confusing me almost as much as Larry.
22/05/2010 11:15:43 AM
- 324 Views
True. But English uses the reflexive in that scenario, not the personal pronoun.
22/05/2010 10:05:30 PM
- 151 Views
That was atrocious Latin.
22/05/2010 02:20:35 PM
- 327 Views
I was very drunk, and it wasn't that bad even had I been sober.
22/05/2010 10:04:12 PM
- 268 Views
Parare means, first and foremost, to prepare, supply or make something available.
23/05/2010 12:50:22 AM
- 261 Views
It also means to buy, and it frequently has that meaning when it's with the dative. No dice.
23/05/2010 02:31:01 AM
- 272 Views
Now you're pulling things out of your ass (about parare, at least)
23/05/2010 02:32:58 AM
- 135 Views
I unfortunately don't have the OLD, and no, I'm not.
23/05/2010 02:41:22 AM
- 168 Views
So I looked up the word in Lewis & Short.
23/05/2010 02:49:19 AM
- 138 Views
Interestingly enough, the Oxford Latin Dictionary doesn't have one use of the dative for "to buy".
23/05/2010 02:51:54 PM
- 336 Views
When asked who told him that killing was wrong, Johnny Five said "I told me."
21/05/2010 09:52:15 PM
- 139 Views
One additional thought.
22/05/2010 02:14:15 AM
- 274 Views
in my elementary school grammar classes...
21/05/2010 04:44:50 AM
- 165 Views
You clearly had an unusually good teacher. That's exactly what should be taught.
21/05/2010 12:00:58 PM
- 142 Views
Seriously dudes? 70 posts about fricking grammar?!
21/05/2010 06:46:58 PM
- 158 Views
I'm proud of us all. If it were about Akkadian grammar, I'd be even more proud. *NM*
21/05/2010 06:51:20 PM
- 174 Views
You could make it about Russian grammar
21/05/2010 07:05:35 PM
- 259 Views
I think I would only get slightly more interest than if it were Akkadian grammar.
21/05/2010 08:13:24 PM
- 271 Views
True
21/05/2010 08:45:54 PM
- 132 Views
Ah, you misunderstood my question.
21/05/2010 09:10:56 PM
- 333 Views
I guess I did
21/05/2010 09:25:53 PM
- 396 Views