'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 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 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	X Me am going 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