How to use "I" and "Me"

It's easy to tell which of "I" or "me" to use in some sentences, for example:

I am going to the beach.
You wouldn't say, "Me is going to the beach."

He told me he didn't want to go.
Nor would you say, "He told I he didn't want to go."

When you combine other nouns, however; the choice becomes less clear. I was taught always to say: "my brother and I" not "my brother and me," but as it turns out, this is often wrong. An easy way to determine the right pronoun is to remove the other noun and see if the sentence reads correctly. If it does, you chose the right one, if it doesn't, you chose the wrong one.

For example:

The teacher told my brother and I to wait for him in the hall.

Test:

The teacher told I to wait for him in the hall. (Doesn't read correctly)

The teacher told me to wait for him in the hall. (Correct)

Thus write:

The teacher told my brother and me to wait for him in the hall.


Another example:

Me and my brother were waiting for the teacher for almost an hour.

Test:

Me was waiting for the teacher for almost an hour. (Incorrect)

I was waiting for the teacher for almost an hour. (Correct)

Thus write:

My brother and I were waiting for the teacher for almost an hour.

Note: the convention when using "I" with another person's name is to write/say that person's name first. Never write "I and Jacob," or "I and my brother."

Also, if you like to get technical, the reason for all of this is that "me" is the objective case of "I," meaning that the same rules apply as for "who" and "whom" (objective case of "who").


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Subject-verb agreement

For words that indicate a partial amount—some, all, none, etc.—if the noun is plural, use a plural verb, and if the noun is singular use a singular verb.

Examples:

None of the chickens are good.
None of this chicken is good.

Some of the pies are good.
Some pie is good, some pie is not.

All of us are going.
All of this pie is good.

In each case the plurality of the italicized noun is matched by the verb.

Disclaimer: advice on this (especially the sometimes plural use of "none") varies, see my source for details.

Source

When to Use Auxiliary Verbs: Sank or Sunk? Sang or Sung? Drank or Drunk?

The boat has sunk.
The boat sank.

He has drunk too much.
He drank too much.

She has sung that song many times before.
She sang very well.

All of these sentence pairs are grammatically correct, but switch the words in italics and the sentences are no longer correct. Sunk, drunk, and sung are all examples of past participles which require an auxiliary verb (such as has, had, was, etc.)

Blond or Blonde?

According to my source:

The words blond and blonde come from the French and follow somewhat the French pattern. Blond (without the e) is used to describe males, mixed gender, or uncertain gender. Blonde refers to women or female gender.

In modern use, blond is sometimes used for female as well as male, but blonde is preferred for female.

In my opinion, since English doesn't require different adjectives for male and female, it's better just to use "blond" without the e for both male and female.

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Who and Whom

Use "who" when referring to, or asking about, the subject of a sentence, and "whom" when referring to, or asking about, the object.

The subject is the person or thing performing an action, for example:

He went to the library.

He is the one going to the library, thus "he" is the subject.

The object is the person or thing receiving the action, for example:

He went to the library.

The library is where "he" is going; it is receiving the action from the subject, and is thus the object of the sentence.

Here's a good mnemonic from grammar girl:

If I say, "I love you," you are the object of my affection, and you is also the object of the sentence (because I am loving you, making me the subject and you the object).

Now some examples of when to use "who" and "whom":

Whom did you go to the beach with? (Asks about the object, not the subject, "you")

Who went to the beach? (Asks who was performing the action--going to the beach--thus asks about the subject)

The one whom he loved was beautiful in every way. (Refers to the object that "he," the subject, loved)

The one who loved him was beautiful in every way. (Refers to the subject that loved "him," the object)

Quiz

Source

Further/Farther

Further

Used for time or quantity, not distance (46). E.g. I pursued Spanish further than any of my colleagues because I wanted to become the new regional sales manager for Latin America.

Farther

Used for distance. E.g. They ran farther down the hill to check if the others were catching up.

Quiz

Source:

Strunk, William, and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. Fourth Edition. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon, 2000. Print.

Passsed/Past

Past

Refers to a period in time or a distance. E.g. All of my best memories are in the past (time). OR The bus went past at an incredible velocity (distance).

Passed

The action of passing. E.g. The teacher passed us by when he was handing out candy.

Source

That/Which

That

Used to introduce a restrictive clause.

E.g. "I want an apple that doesn't have worms in it."

-Describes the exact apple desired, clause is restrictive, no need for commas because the clause is essential to the sentence's meaning.

Which

Used to introduce a nonrestrictive clause.

E.g. "I want an apple, which is a delicious type of fruit."

-Says nothing about the specific apple desired, the clause is "nonrestrictive," that is, it describes all apples, requires a comma before the clause because the clause is nonessential to the sentence's meaning.

A case where proper use is critical:

He likes dogs that don't bark.

He likes dogs, which don't bark.

In the first case we know that "he" likes dogs that don't bark.

In the second case, we're told two things: "he" likes dogs, and dogs don't bark.

(However, it seems to me that this distinction is so rare that we might eliminate it altogether by properly using commas. If the comma is removed in the second example, it doesn't matter that "which" was used; the sentence retains its proper meaning for the reader.)

Test

Rule 1: Sentence's meaning is the same without the clause: use "Which"

Rule 2: Sentence's meaning changes with the clause: use "That"

Rule 3: Clause seems to naturally call for a comma: check Rule 1

Quiz

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