Saturday, March 31, 2018

Yep! You guessed it!

I’m seeing this so often right now that I just have to say something. Yes, this is going to be a GRAMMAR RANT!!!

Let me first give you some examples of what I’m seeing. This was just on Twitter:
“I’m so glad the members of @SoulTreeNation could join @JenniL_KVUE @JasonM_KVUE and I on Daybreak this morning. This talented group of young musicians will pay tribute to band member Draylen Mason who was killed in the #AustinBombings at the @UrbanMusicFest today.”
You might wonder what exactly is wrong here. Well, it’s the use of “I” in this tweet that is incorrect. How do I know? Take out the sentence and look at it like this: would you say “I’m glad they joined I this morning,” or would you say “I’m glad they joined me this morning”?

It’s easy! So why is it so hard????

So when is “I” appropriate? Here’s an example I found:

a. Jenny and me/I (?) joined the chess club.
b. Jill took Justin and me/I (?) to the shop. 
In sentence a), Jenny and me/I are the subjects of the verb joined. Therefore, the subject pronoun, I, is considered correct. You will certainly hear native speakers say, “Jenny and me,” and it may be acceptable in spoken English, but most traditional grammarians and English teachers will disapprove. Don’t use it in writing. 
The opposite is true for sentence b), which is the original example from above. Justin and me/I are the objects of took. Therefore me is considered correct by most grammarians and teachers, although you will hear people say, “Justin and I.” Again, don't use it in writing.
All you have to do is break the sentence apart ant if it sounds right, then it’s right. Period.

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