Let’s continue our look at confusion over certain words and phrases. This one comes up too often in my view although it’s really pretty simple: when to use “I” versus “me.”

In order to better understand the issue, we need to understand the components. “I” and “me” are examples of pronouns.

Pronouns can be classified into three different categories: subject, object, and possessive. Let’s look at what each of these includes, as per one of my favorite sources, GrammarBook.com. This material has been edited for content and reformatted for clarity. As always, the end of the quoted material is denoted by the “∎.”

Subject Pronouns

I, you, he, she, it, we, they

Object Pronouns

me, you, him, her, it, us, them

Possessive Pronouns

mine, my, yours, his, hers, her, its, ours, theirs

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GrammarBook.com suggests a very simple rule:

Rule: Use one of the subject pronouns when it is the subject of the sentence.

Example: 

I hit the ball. 

Who hit the ball? I did.

So “I” is the subject.

Usually, these subject pronouns sound right to most of us.

Example: 

He and I will meet at the gym.

Who will meet at the gym? He will meet at the gym. I will meet at the gym.

So “he” and “I” are both the subjects. 

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This is where a lot of people run into problems because they’re tempted to say  “Him and me will . . .” or “Him and I will . . .” .

Here, GrammarBook.com suggests a very simple solution:

You can remember the correct pronouns by saying each pronoun alone in the sentence. It probably won’t sound right to you to say, “Him will . . .” or “Me will . . .”

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The next situation is one in which many people have issues, because it doesn’t “sound right.” From GrammarBook:

Rule: Use a subject pronoun following state-of-being verbs such as am, are, is, was, were, appeared, seemed, etc. 

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Here’s example related to the picture at the top:

Did you have the same cab driver?

Yes, it was he.

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Here’s the last rule, from GrammarBook. This is another situation where leaving out words is helpful to determine what’s correct:

Rule: Use one of the object pronouns when the pronoun is not a subject and it doesn’t follow a state-of-being verb. 

Example: 

Nancy gave the gift to her.

Example: 

Please remind him or me.

(Remember, leave out one of the pronouns and you will be able to hear the correct answer.) Many of us have been brainwashed to believe that “I” is somehow more correct than “me.” Not so. “I” and “me” follow the same rules as all other pronouns. Would you say, “Please give it to I”? Of course not.

Example: 

Between you and me, I think Sandy cheated.

Again, me is not the subject nor does it follow one of those state-of-being verbs. So we must use the object case. (For those of you with some grammar background, you and me in that sentence are both objects of the preposition between.)

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Although these situations come up more often in conversational contexts, I believe that it’s necessary to have complete command over these issues if one is writing a book.

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