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Continuing with the English theme that I started with my last post, I'm here to talk to you today about one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to the English language: the improper use of the words me, myself, and I.  Well, it's really about me and I, but it just fits as a title better if I include myself.

I do not believe I go through a single day where I don't hear at least one of these words used incorrectly.  If I don't overhear it at work, I will almost assuredly hear it at least once while watching TV, normally on a scripted show, where the writers should know better.  The most common occurrence I notice is using I instead of me.  It is "Billy is waiting for my brother and me," not "Billy is waiting for my brother and I."  I have no idea why people can't seem to grasp this, so I'm going to briefly explain it.

Me is an objective pronoun, and I is a subjective pronoun.  That means that if you are referring to yourself as the subject of a sentence - you are the one that is performing the action - then you use the word I.  If you are referring yourself as the one being acted upon, then you use the word me.  In my above example, Billy is the one performing the action (waiting), so he is the subject of the sentence.  Since the personal pronoun is being used to describe whom Billy is waiting for, the correct word is me.

I think that part of the reason for this confusion is due to a lack of understanding when people are taught English in school.  I remember the countless number of times where teachers told us: "When you are referring to yourself and another person, always put the other person first, so it is 'my brother and I,' not 'I and my brother.'  I believe many people took this to mean that it is always I, when referring to myself and another person, but that is not the case.  The rules for me and I do not change when you add another person to the mix.  You just make sure to reference the other person first.  So, it is "my brother and me," not "me and my brother."  I believe that this is where the problem truly lies.  People don't know how to refer to themselves when talking about themselves and another person (or multiple other people, of course).  I rarely hear the wrong word used when a person is speaking only about themselves, so it should be very simple for them to use the correct word when referring to themselves and another person. 

Here's a simple rule to follow, if you don't know what the correct word is:  Take the other person out of the equation.  Using my above example, once again, what would the correct sentence be if my brother wasn't around?  Would it be "Billy is waiting for me" or "Billy is waiting for I"?  The correct statement uses me, and adding my brother back in doesn't change that.  I don't know a single person that would say that the second statement is correct, which means that everyone really does know the correct word, so now people need to just start using it.