JS Tip 14: From the Writing Workshops: Sorting out “I” and “Me”

“I” is always a subject; “me” is always an object. Done. That's the end of the tip . . . just kidding.

It gets tricky when we put someone else in the mix: “Jones and me wrote the report.” To a lot of people, this sounds acceptable, but it isn't.

The best way to know which to use is to drop (temporarily) the "someone else in the mix": “Me . . . wrote the report.” No. That doesn’t work. “I . . . wrote the report.” Yes. That works.

Rewrite the sentence: “Jones and I wrote the report.”

On the other hand, you shouldn't say "The committee consists of Madison, Unger, and I." Get rid of the other folks: "The committee consists of I." Nope. Improper. "Me" is appropriate: “The committee consists of Madison, Unger, and me.”  

Our thanks to Roger Rice of Mountainlands Applied Technology College; he suggested this discussion. If you’d like to know more, let us know. We love this stuff. 

Special Bonus Opportunity: Be the first to tell us the significance of the other members of the committee, and we'll do something cool for you.