This language abuse has reached epidemic proportions. I don’t know when or how it happened; it kind of sneaked up on all of us. Allow me to decline the personal pronoun, I.

This is the nominative case of the personal pronoun. This form is used in the subject of a sentence. I go to the store. You go to the store. He and I went to the store. He and I went to Margarita Friday. We went to the bar. They should get a life. Note compound subjects still use the nominative case of the pronoun. A compound subject is defined as the use of one or more subjects joined by a conjunction but that have the same predicate.

Let me decline the accusative form of the personal pronoun:

The accusative case is used in the object of a sentence. I gave the present to her (this is actually the Dative case but let’s not split hairs). The bartender served him a drink. I lectured them about bad grammar.

The abuse seems to be limited to the use of compound subjects. I haven’t heard someone say lately, “Me like Mexican food,” for example. Here’s a tip when trying to figure out which form to use in a sentence. Before using compound subjects or objects, use one of the subjects alone and determine which form you would use. Then use the same form with the compound use. For example, the sentence “I like Mexican food” uses the nominative form, so “She and I like Mexican food” also uses the nominative form. “He and I went to the concert” is another example. Similarly with the accusative form, “They gave the drinks to me” becomes “They gave the drinks to Fred and me.” Not “They gave the drinks to Fred and I!!” Grammar gods, save us please!

Spread the word.

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