by Sonia M.
Member since:
July 22, 2006

Me, myself and I

January 31, 2012 08:38 PM UTC
views: 0 | 6 people recommend this | comments: 44

I am not trying to say I am a better grammarian than most people, but one of the grammatical errors that bothers me the most is the use of me or I incorrectly... and yet, I see people that I feel should know better do it all the time.

The way my mother, who taught English in Cuba as a second language, always explained it was to put myself into the sentence and test which felt right.

Jimmy gave an orange to Sandra and I.

Would Jimmy give I an orange?

No

Jimmy gave ME an orange so consequently the correct sentence would be:

Jimmy gave Sandra and me an orange.

Here is the reverse:

Jimmy and me went to the movies

Would me go to the movies?

No

I went to the movies ergo Jimmy and I went to the movies.

 

I have even noticed it showing up in published books.  How can editors miss it? It's so simple and yet seems to be so difficult for so many people!

What incorrect forms of speech bother you the most?

 

 

Comments: 44

Susan N. Jan 31, 2012, 8:45pm UTC
Confusing there and their, you're and your....
Sonia M. Jan 31, 2012, 8:54pm UTC
Yes, those examples are also commonly seen... I think sometimes its because they're typing faster than the brain is dictating ;-)
JOHN BECK Jan 31, 2012, 9:05pm UTC
We see this so frequently, and it is bothersome.
Sonia M. Jan 31, 2012, 9:07pm UTC
Whenever I see it and other glaring errors in published books it makes me want to write the publisher and ask "what were you thinking?"

Sonia M. Jan 31, 2012, 9:12pm UTC
Another pet peeve is when a writer wants to write a sentence or a couple of comments in Spanish or another language and they use the wrong form... Makes me want to ask them and the editors if they ran it through a person who spoke the language...

One you hear and see a lot is No problemo!

Well, to begin with, there is no such word as problemo. The word is problema....and although in English you can say no problem, there is no such way to say it in Spanish.
The correct ways are:
No hay problema - there is no problem
No es un problema - it is not a problem
Sin problema - without problem
Granny Janny Feb 4, 2012, 4:51pm UTC
Gracias, Senora.
Sonia M. Feb 4, 2012, 4:59pm UTC
Es mi placer, Señora
;-)
Alison H. Jan 31, 2012, 10:14pm UTC
I was fortunate to have an English teacher who took English apart and put it back together for us (the way you did here), in seventh grade. I loved diagramming sentences. I don't think my kids had as good an education in language, and obviously many others didn't, either.
Sonia M. Jan 31, 2012, 10:58pm UTC
Yes, I was lucky that my mom was my first English teacher, although I had a fantastic teacher in the 6th grade (Ms Eleanor Burgess - from Atlanta) and another great one in the 7 & 8th (Ms Katherine Mamie Donahue from Philly)

Unfortunately, our kids and grandkids, except for a few instances, didn't have as good an education as my generation seems to have had.
Madame Donna C. Jan 31, 2012, 11:38pm UTC
Oh, Sonia, I spent years as an English and Literature major followed by a stint as a magazine assistant editor and I went crazy over the ridiculous grammatical errors I found. The error you cited annoys me but equally annoying is the "I need to get me one of those" type of comments. Wilhelmine Eastabrook had an article last month discussing some of the problems with language that are currently rampant. Here's the link to her article "What Is Happening To Our Language?"
Sonia M. Jan 31, 2012, 11:46pm UTC
LOL... I need to get me one of those... ;-) oh yeah.

Going now to read Wilhelmine's article...thanks!
♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Feb 1, 2012, 2:52am UTC
Well, I am not a native English speaker, but I consider myself to be pretty good in the grammar. For me, it is easier than German *lol*
I don't understand why people confuse "your" with "you're" as it seems so logical for me...
Sonia M. Feb 1, 2012, 12:24pm UTC
Christine, too many of the mistakes people make are just carelessness...
amd yes, you're quite good with your English. Sometimes people who learn it as a second or third language are more grammatical precise than native speakers.
Wilhelmine E. Feb 1, 2012, 8:24am UTC
Interesting. I use the same trick your mother taught, Sonja. if it still doesn't look right or sound good to my ear, I rearrange the sentence.

Some of my French friends from Northern New Brunswick might say: "i like that coat me." or "I would rather walk, me."
Sonia M. Feb 1, 2012, 12:33pm UTC
Well, in Spanish, my native language we might also say (using your own example "I like that coat me") "A mi me gusta ese abrigo" (To me I like that coat) using a double personal pronoun; mi as the personal pronoun and me as a possessive one, whereas we could simply say "Me gusta ese abrigo" (I like that coat)

Its not only languages but the coloquial use of languages have so many little interesting quirks
Kathryn Flynn Feb 1, 2012, 8:47am UTC
What bothers me (among many other problems) is the folllowing: Me and Jimmy went to the movies.

Two-year old children say: Me went to the movies.

Well, off to see my ESL student.
Sonia M. Feb 1, 2012, 12:35pm UTC
Yes, that is another big "nails on the blackboard" kind of grammatical error but I have noticed that it is now so prevalent that no one seems to correct a child when they make the mistake.
Sonia M. Feb 1, 2012, 12:36pm UTC
ps...excusable in a two-year old but not in a high school or college student who by now should know better.
Kathryn Flynn Feb 1, 2012, 3:04pm UTC
exactly. they should know better....
Sonia M. Feb 1, 2012, 3:08pm UTC
It is disgraceful how high school students graduate and can't read or write. So many students can't write a decent essay to save their lives...
Cristina S. Feb 1, 2012, 1:19pm UTC
"Who made that?"
"Me"

You are so right...
Sonia M. Feb 1, 2012, 1:25pm UTC
LOL....in this case you can reply just "me" but also "I did"

"I made that"
Kathryn Flynn Feb 1, 2012, 3:05pm UTC
and if people have trouble with me or I...imagine how much trouble they would have trying to write sentences with perfect progressives...future perfect or past perfect progressive sentences...

Sonia M. Feb 1, 2012, 10:05pm UTC
As I mentioned above, I don't consider myself the authority on the best grammar in English and I probably make careless mistakes when I stream write but something that I try to do is to reread what I have written, If it sounds ackward to my own ears then it will probably be wrong and sound ackward to the readers.
Cristina S. Feb 2, 2012, 11:17am UTC
Sonia, the correct answer is "I did."

"Me" is grammatically incorrect... because it is an object pronoun - and you want to know the subject, the "doer."

But it is so widely misused in English that the wrong pronoun sounds correct :-)
Sonia M. Feb 2, 2012, 11:47am UTC
You are absolutely right, Cristina...!
Nana to Seven Cutiepies Feb 1, 2012, 4:29pm UTC
Unfortunately they no longer teach these easy little tricks in school today. Thanks for passing it on.
Sonia M. Feb 1, 2012, 10:06pm UTC
No, Nana they don't. A shame, actually.
Marilyn S. Feb 1, 2012, 11:59pm UTC
I remember giving "it doesn't sound right" as an explanation to my English teacher and was told that wasn't the correct answer. I believe "I" is a subject and "me" follows a preposition.
Marilyn S. Feb 2, 2012, 12:00am UTC
And we had to memorize a long list of prepositions.
Sonia M. Feb 2, 2012, 2:07am UTC
I remember having to memorize them...it was not fun.
Marilyn (PaintsOnSlate) S. Feb 4, 2012, 7:27am UTC
The "at" on the end of a sentence drives me nuts but I used it in a Challenge because it draws attention to the challenge. I've never had trouble with me myself and I but know some people do. I think since computers are so fast often we hurry through without checking for grammar and spelling although I've seen many who just didn't get it when they were in school.
Sonia M. Feb 4, 2012, 12:48pm UTC
Colloquialisms and grammatical mistakes are ok when used in the proper place and if used for a reason, but not when done as a careless mistake or out of ignorance. A lot of people are just careless and don't think it through even if they ever learned it.
Nancy S. Feb 4, 2012, 9:45pm UTC
"At" drives me crazy too. When we said that as kids my mom would come back with "right behind that adverb." It kind of made me angry at the time but sure makes me aware of it now.
Sonia M. Feb 5, 2012, 1:27pm UTC
Amazing how as we grow and learn, our minds change about much of what we thought when younger... ;-)
Granny Janny Feb 4, 2012, 4:55pm UTC
Any one who finds grammar errors in my writing is invited to correct me. I know I make them and want to avoid them.
Sonia M. Feb 4, 2012, 5:05pm UTC
Oh, definitely I welcome anyone to correct mine also... I try to avoid them but sometimes we do get careless... We might make careless errors but we don't make them all the time...;-)

It is the constant use of the wrong word by some people that gets me:
threw for through
sale for sail
there for their
etc....
Pamela Marks Feb 10, 2012, 10:18pm UTC
I have done this myself when I am really tired
Sonia M. Feb 10, 2012, 10:49pm UTC
You might make them at times but not on a regular basis...there are some that do, constantly, right here in Gather.
Pamela Marks Feb 16, 2012, 10:39pm UTC
as long as I can understand them it doesn't really bother me all that much
Sonia M. Feb 16, 2012, 11:08pm UTC
It does bother me because many teachers and schools are not taking the time to teach grammar and many parents aren't monitoring what their children are learning...or not learning.

We are raising a couple of generations of illiterates in their own language, much less learning a second one to try to catch up with other countries where people can speak several languages fluently.
Pamela Marks Feb 17, 2012, 4:02pm UTC
I can understand that I just know there are some people on here that have learning problems and some that are reaching out to others when they don't have anyone else to do so with and for them to even to socialize can be a challenge for them.

Don't even get me going on ubonics and slang it drives me crazy.
August Lady Feb 16, 2012, 11:23pm UTC
Subject/verb errors drive(s) me batty~LOL!
Sonia M. Feb 17, 2012, 2:06pm UTC
Oh, yes!

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