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Lily
Why do we say "me and my friends will go to the mall"and not "I and my friends..." ?Thank you.
Aug 1, 2010 7:03 PM
Answers · 6
7
Uhhh saying "me and my friends" is not standard English in this case, it is grammatically wrong. You have to say "My friends and I will go to the mall". Even natives have trouble knowing when to use it correctly.
August 1, 2010
3
Just to add to what いさむ said, *poorly-educated* natives (and people who don't care) have trouble with it.
It's simpler to remember if you just think politely by putting the other person first and then the "I" ( "__ and I")...
August 1, 2010
2
Here's another clue about using "my friends" "me" and "I"
Split the noun and pronoun into two sentences, as follows:
My friends will go to the mall. OK
I will go to the mall. OK
Me will go to the mall. NOT OK
Another explanation follows:
My friends will go to the mall and I will go to the mall. (one sentence made up of two clauses joined by the conjunction "and").
My friends and I will go to the mall.
One shorter sentence using the conjunction "and" to join the two subjects, "my friends" and "I", to form one sentence.
August 1, 2010
1
Hi,
When making a list of people, it's considered proper to put yourself at the end. Politeness, I suppose. So "you and me", "my friends and I", "my brother, our father and I", etc.
As for using I/me, Richard's given a great way of working out which is correct. :) For the grammatical nuts-and-bolts, use "I" for when you are the subject, and "me" for when you are the object.
I will go to the mall. (subject!)
My friends at the mall will meet me. (object!)
Native speakers may sometimes speak their own language sloppily, so it's a good habit to remember what you hear may not always be "correct", or even good.
August 1, 2010
Now, why didn't I think of that?
Peachy's answer is grammatically absolutely correct, totally right, bang-on (slang), and right-on (slang).
Only a linguistics teacher would think of answering a grammtical question with a grammatical answer, while the rest of us struggle to answer in our near-comical, roundabout, and dare I say ass-backwards humble way:) :)
Thanks to Peachy for reminding me that grammar rules exist for a reason.
August 1, 2010
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Lily
Language Skills
Arabic, English, French
Learning Language
English, French
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