Sunday, June 29, 2014

‘I’ or ‘me’?

I've been taking some serious time-out to devote to working on my book and it's come with its own rewards and challenges. A multitude of fears have surfaced their ugly heads: fear of failure (who will I be if this book is terrible and I don't mean commercially - I mean what if I suck at writing?); fear of success (what if this becomes a best-seller and I'm expected to talk to audiences about happiness but I'm still figuring this out myself - can I be a beacon for others?); fear of rejection, humiliation, embarassment (no explanation needed!). I also feel at times I have nothing noteworthy to say; is that fear of myself?

Regardless, because the Runner-Up prize from Hay House is one of the best things that has ever happened to me, I feel like I have won the lottery. I must collect that prize! I'm now in the mode of forcing myself to sit my rear in a chair and write like the devil until I can't write anymore. Sometimes, after a long day of work, that's 5 minutes, but at least I did it. Sometimes, on a beautiful summer day out on the porch, it's 4 hours. That feels pretty good.

So today, I have confused myself with how to use "I" and "me" in sentences. And I thought maybe you might not be sure either. So that's today's lesson for us both!

from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/i-or-me

The two personal pronouns I and me are often used wrongly, usually in sentences in which I is being used with another noun. Here are some tips to help you get it right:

  • Use the pronoun I, along with other subjective pronouns (they are the subjects of verbs) such as we, he, she, you, and they, when the pronoun is the subject of a verb:
He went to bed.
We waited for the bus.
Clare and I are going for a coffee.
In the last example, the pronoun I, together with the proper noun Clare, forms the subject of the sentence, so you need to use I rather than me.
  • Use the pronoun me, along with other objective pronouns (they are the objects of verbs and prepositions) such as us, him, her, you, and them,when the pronoun is the object of a verb:
Danny thanked them.
The dog followed John and me to the door.
In the last example, the pronoun me, together with the proper noun John, forms the object of the verbfollow, so you need to use me rather than I.
  • Use the pronoun me, along with other objective pronouns such as us, him, her, you, and them,when the pronoun is the object of a preposition:
Rose spent the day with Jake and me.
Me, together with Jake, forms the object of the preposition with, so you need to use the pronoun merather than the pronoun I.
An easy way of making sure you’ve chosen the right pronoun is to see whether the sentence reads properly if you remove the additional noun:
√ I am going for a coffee
Me am going for a coffee
√ Rose and I went for a coffee
X Rose and me went for a coffee
√ The dog followed me
X The dog followed I
√ Rose spent the day with me
X Rose spent the day with I
And from wikihow:
If you change the subject around to a different spot in the sentence, and make it about you and only you, you can easily spot the places where the wrong usage of "I" and "me" will make you sound bizarre.
  • Examples:
    • "Harry and me went to the store." (Change it around so that Harry's out of the picture and it's just about you - you would never say, "Me went to the store.")
    • "Who's at the door?" You answer, "It's me." (No, no, no! You would really properly say, "It is I." Consider a related sentence: “That writer is me.” Try reversing the word order, and you end up with “Me am that writer.” You use nominative pronouns such as "I" after forms of “to be” (i.e. amareis,waswerebebeing, and been). The “to be” functions as an equal sign, so the nouns and pronouns on both sides of the “equal sign” are nominative.
    • "The cake was made by Justin and I." (Would you ever say, "The cake was made by I"?)
  • Have a great week!