Grammar Rules: I or Me?

The personal pronouns I and me are frequently misused, especially when paired with proper nouns, the word than, prepositions, and linking verbs such as is. By remembering just a few painless grammar rules, speakers and writers will properly use I and me.

1. Grammar Rules: I or Me?- Choose the subjective pronoun I when it is the subject of a verb.

The subject of a verb is usually a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that precedes the verb and performs some action. For example, consider this sentence: "Gary and I repaired the car." In that sentence, Gary and I are the subjects of the verb repaired; therefore, the subjective pronoun I is the right choice. "Gary and me repaired the car" is incorrect.

2. Grammar Rules: I or Me?- Choose the objective pronoun me when it is the object of a verb.

The object of a verb is often a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that follows the verb and receives or is affected by some action. By way of example, consider this sentence: "Julie sent a gift to Ashley and me." In that sentence, Ashley and me are indirect objects of the verb sent; thus, the objective pronoun me is the correct choice. Parenthetically, me is also the proper choice because it follows the word to, a preposition. See Rule 5.

Helpful Tip: In the above examples, delete the proper nouns Gary and Ashley (along with the conjunctions and) to determine whether I or me are the correct pronouns.

In the first example,"I repaired the car" is grammatically correct, not "Me repaired the car." In the second example, "Julie sent a gift to me" is correct, not "Julie sent a gift to I."

3. Grammar Rules: I or Me?- Choose the subjective pronoun I after the word than if the pronoun is being compared to the subject of a verb.

In the sentence, "Carolyn cares about it more than I," the subjective pronoun I is being compared to the subject Carolyn; that is to say, Carolyn cares about it more than I care about it. Therefore, the subjective pronoun I is the right choice; in fact, the sentence, "Carolyn cares about it more than me," has an entirely different meaning, as set forth in Rule 4.

4. Grammar Rules: I or Me?- Choose the objective pronoun me after the word than if the pronoun is being compared to the object of a verb.

In the sentence, "Carolyn cares about it more than me," the objective pronoun me is being compared to the object it; to wit, Carolyn cares about it more than Carolyn cares about me. Hence, the objective pronoun me is the right choice.

5. Grammar Rules: I or Me?- Choose the objective pronoun me when it follows a preposition.

There are approximately 150 prepositions in the English language: used most often are of, to, and in. Prepositons indicate a connection between things in a sentence.

The words after a preposition are the "object of the preposition"; therefore, the objective pronoun me follows a preposition, not I.

In the sentence, "Between you and me, Tom is not happy," the pronoun me is the correct choice because it follows between, a preposition. Similarly, me is the right choice in the sentence, "Tom is not pleased with you and me," because the pronoun follows with, a preposition.

6. Grammar Rules: I or Me?- Choose the subjective pronoun I when it follows a linking verb such as is.

According to linguistic prescriptionists, "This is I" is a proper response to a telephone caller who asks if the answerer "is there." However, according to grammarian Mignon Fogarty (and many others), "most grammarians forgive you for not following the rule" because "This is me" is so widely used.

Source(s):

"'I' or 'me'?" Oxford Dictionaries
Fogarty, Mignon. "'It Is I' Versus 'It Is Me'", Grammar Girl
Lynch, Jack Ph.D. "Than I versus Than Me," Guide to Grammar and Style