Mechanics 101 For 10/31‏

[Comsie]

There are three ways of speaking in the first person about yourself and one other person, right?

 

"Me and Mikey"

 

"Mikey and I"

 

and "Mikey and me"

 

The question is...which one is correct in what situation? I believe that "Me and Mikey" is only appropriate after the verb in the sentence has been placed. But it's been a long time since I've read the official rule on that.

 

Anybody care to refresh us all on that?

[Verm]

If I'm not mistaken the correct phrasing would be:

 

"Mikey and I"

 

I may be wrong on this, but my English teacher would always correct me whenever I use "X and me", he said that it was grammatically incorrect. But it's been awhile for me as well, so I can't be 100% certain.

[steph]

Here are the rules as I know them...

 

1. When the subject of a sentence, always use 'Mikey and I'

ex - Mikey and I went to the dance.

ex - Mikey and I laughed so hard, we almost peed our pants.

 

2. When part of a prepositional phrase, it's always 'Mikey and me'

ex - He smiled at Mikey and me.

ex - He bought lunch for Mikey and me.

 

3. When the object of an action verb, it's always 'Mikey and me'

ex - He took Mikey and me along for the ride.

ex - He passed Mikey and me in the hall.

 

A good rule of thumb... if you remove 'Mikey', would you say 'me' or 'I'?

I went to the dance.

I laughed so hard.

He smiled at me.

He bought lunch for me.

He took me along for the ride.

He passed me in the hall.

 

 

Now, here's where it gets tricky...

4. When the object of an intransitive verb (non-action verb), it's always 'Mikey and I'

ex - The only two left in the contest were Mikey and I.

 

In common speech, most people would, "The only one left was me." But this is actually grammatically incorrect. We should say, "The only one left was I." Sounds totally stupid, so my rule of thumb doesn't really work in this case. :wacko:

 

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Oh, 'me and Mikey' is never grammatically correct, and should only be used in informal dialogue.

Edited November 1, 2008 by steph291

[Emulated]

This sort of thing always had me puzzled.

 

A good rule of thumb... if you remove 'Mikey', would you say 'me' or 'I'?

I'll be sure to remember this handy advice, Thanks Steph!

[Dax]

What about "myself and Mikey" or "Mikey and myself"?

 

Dax

[Munny]

The correct answer is - Mike and I !