Using "me" as a subject in a sentence

Well, I think it is just as bad or even worse when they overcompensate, and say "Fred came to the cinema with Joe and I" because you wouldn't say "He came with I", would you?

These things always go wrong when people don't understand how their own language works.

I think it's a casual thing.

You know. When you don't really want to pause in a conversation to try out the two alternatives.

[yawn]

muswellblue You might well say "Me went to the cinema" if you spoke Caribbean English as opposed to English English and perfectly acceptably too.

But this is not the Caribbean. There it is the norm, they hear it all the time as they learn to speak, so they use it themselves.

In Britain the norm is to say I or he or she for one person in the same place as you would say we or they for the plural, and to say me or him or her in the same place as you would say us or them.

Except in some areas, of course, where they have said "Us is from Cornwall" or wherever, for centuries - and are considered yokels in smocks by everyone else.

Say you were having a (laid back, enjoyable) chat with someone. Perhaps a girly chat on the phone.

Can you honestly say you would always say "Oh yes! Jane and I went in there the other day. Nice isn't it?"

And NEVER "Oh yeah. Me and Jane went in there etc etc etc

Don't belieeeve you!

Sorry Jingl but yes, I automatically use the correct version. Simply because I grew up hearing only the correct usage so that's what springs to mind. I'd have to stop and think about it to do otherwise. The other side of the coin is - if you grow up hearing only the ungrammatical version that's what you'll use. Really don't think it's about formal/ informal - just habit. If you have to make the effort to get it right, then you choose whether or not to make that effort.

Yes Jingle, I too would always use the correct version. That is what I always heard as a child, and my parents were not at all posh. I don't have one kind of speech for informal chats and another for being pedantic. If I tried not using correct language, I would sound as though I were talking down to people, which is insulting.

Did you see, I put, "as though I were" not "was" ? Couldn't help it.

jingl I use the correct version without even thinking about it. As em said, I grew up with the correct usage and I taught my children to do the same. Bad grammar is usually a poor education or laziness!

I can't help using it either.

Sometimes I say "innit".

Especially when texting.

When texting you use whatever gets over your meaning without giving your fingers metal fatigue, same when chatting. There is a lot of shorthand when you are face to face, and a lot of non-verbal clues.

But journalists, newsreaders and other people using language professionally (and that includes teachers) should use it properly. Use the right tool for the job.

A chisel is meant for removing small pieces of wood accurately and neatly. It has to be sharp and without notches in the edge. If a joiner used it to open tins of paint or cut firewood it would lose its edge and his fine work would not turn out as he intended it to.

Same with those who are ignorant of the use of language. When they most need to be accurate they can only use cliches and exaggeration.

It has to be correct or I can be heard screeching from a mile away.
I have a SIL who always says 'Me and Hannah' or 'Me and the boys' and it drives me potty. He's an educated man for goodness' sake. I always try to correct in a subtle way, but it doesn't seem to work - maybe he does it to infuriate his MIL

Oh well. You are in this particular corner. Sigh.

A poor education or living with adults who may not speak perfect English, is not the fault of the child experiencing these things. So whilst some use of language occasionally grates, I don't think it's the 'fault' of the speaker.