Do you ever hear yourself channel your grade school English teacher and correct the grammar of others? Do you cringe when someone uses the wrong word in a sentence? Are you sure you are right when you correct them?
[ctt template=”3″ link=”3670Z” via=”yes” ]Do you ever correct someone else’s grammar? Are you sure you are right when you correct them?[/ctt]
Not only do I see others correcting others (especially on social media), I often hear them correct the other person, and they are wrong with their corrections.
The biggest correction I see and hear is the I/me/myself correction.
For instance, if I were to update my status (or say in a conversation), “We are collecting money for Ukrainian refugees. This is important to Warren and me,” I can almost guarantee someone will try to correct me and say, “Warren and I.”
I know I’m not the only one who remembers that you should never say “Warren and me” in a sentence. I remember my English teacher drilling this into my head the entire time I was in school. At least I think I remember that.
Except that sometimes, “Warren and me” IS correct. It isn’t always “Warren and I,” regardless of what we think we remember from our school days.
Here is an easy trick to understand if you should say me, I, or myself. Take out the other person in the sentence and read it. If it makes sense, you are correct in your word choice, and if it doesn’t make sense, it is the wrong word.
[ctt template=”3″ link=”V7ch8″ via=”yes” ]Here is an easy trick to understand if you should say me, I, or myself.[/ctt]
Back to my example, “We are collecting money for Ukrainian refugees. This is important to Warren and me.” Take out the Warren part of the sentence (he is the other person) and read it. We are collecting money for Ukrainian refugees. This is important to Warren and me.”
That makes sense, doesn’t it? “This is important to I” does not make sense at all, so if I had said, “This is important to Warren and I,” it would be wrong.
I often see emails that say, “If you have any questions, please call Pooja or myself.” The same rules apply. Remove the other person. “If you have any questions, please call Pooja or myself” doesn’t work at all. Neither does, “If you have any questions, please call Pooja or I,” which means the only correct option is, “If you have any questions, please call Pooja or me.”
Once you understand this very easy rule, it is always easy to know what word choice to use.
