Yes, I can be accused of contributing for having used the sloven grammar of the blogosphere for folksy effect. I hope to be forgiven for taking "artistic" license and - like you - can usually spot a writer using improper grammar or language on purpose. This is entirely different than flat out bad grammar and I could overlook it completely if the errors weren't becoming the norm.
Here's the one that's really getting to me because it's happening in the media and it's going viral - the incorrect use of the word
I.
Using the word
I all the time is the verbal equivalent to raising one's picky while drinking a cup of tea. People have started to use
I because they think it is more correct than the word
me.
Ai Yi Yi Yi....don't they teach this in school anymore?
Look at these sentences:
- I went to Abigail's.
- Me went to Abigail's.
- Susie went to Abigail's.
- Susie and I went to Abigail's.
- Susie and me went to Abigail's.
- I and Susie went to Abigail's.
- Me and Susie went to Abigail's.
Here we have the most basic parts of a sentence - a
subject,
verb, and
object. The
subject is the who or what the sentence is all about and the subject is usually at the beginning of a sentence. The
verb is the action of a sentence. Not all sentences contain an
object, however, when used an
object is the where, what or whom the action or
verb resolved itself upon. Does that make sense?
The sentence "
Butch saluted the flag." is all about Butch. Butch is the subject. What did Butch do? He saluted. Saluted is the verb. If we wanted, we could have simply said "Butch saluted.", however, to fully describe what happened the speaker added an object - the flag. So, by saying "Butch saluted the flag." we have a subject, a verb and an object and therefore a reasonably full description from the speaker. The speaker could have said "The Mayor, Butch Bellas, saluted the lovely American flag on the pole in the Diamond in Ligonier, PA on Memorial Day weekend in the year 2010 after having heard the gun salute." but then we'd have to spend WAY too much time on this post so we'll keep it simple. ;)
Back to our seven sentences. It's easy to see that the verb in all seven is
went. The object in all seven is
Abigail's. Look at the subjects. Can we all agree that unless you are playing an Indian in a cheap 1950's film, the word
me is not correctly used as a subject in a sentence. Right? So, that leaves us with four sentences:
- I went to Abigail's.
- Susie went to Abigail's.
- Susie and I went to Abigail's.
- I and Susie went to Abigail's.
When referring to yourself in the subject of a sentence, always use the word
I, however, unless you want to be a crude and rude nincompoop, the other person always comes first and so that means sentence number four is incorrect leaving us with these three correct sentences:
- I went to Abigail's.
- Susie went to Abigail's.
- Susie and I went to Abigail's.
To continue this painful drone on grammar - LOL - let's look at the real culprit, the use of the word
I as an object of a sentence.
- Susie went to Abigail's with me.
- Susie went to Abigail's with I. <little pinky!
- Susie went to Abigail's with Sally and me.
- Susie went to Abigail's with Sally and I. <little pinky!
- Susie went to Abigail's with I and Sally. <rude little pinky!
- Susie went to Abigail's with me and Sally. <just plain rude!
The word
me is all wrong as the subject of a sentence and the word
I is all wrong as the object of a sentence. Every time you hear the word
I used as an object of a sentence, just imagine a little pinky lifted while tipping the cup and you'll always remember the it's
ME, not
I, leaving us with these two correct sentences:
- Susie went to Abigail's with me.
- Susie went to Abigail's with Sally and me.