You and Me vs You and I

Published: Sunday | November 9, 2008 Comments 0

Wordsmith: A forum for examining the language of speech and writing.

There is usually no problem with second person singular pronoun 'you', as the form is the same for object and subject pronouns. When do we use 'you and me', and when do we use 'you and I?' It's simple. If what is needed is the subject pronoun, then use 'You and I', e.g. 'You and I painted the house'. If however, it is intended to represent the object pronoun, then 'you and me' should be used e.g. 'He prepared lunch for you and me'.

Adverbs and adjectives

Here's the rule: an adverb modifies a verb and an adjective modifies a noun. In English most adverbs are constructed by adding 'ly' to the end of adjectives. So it is correct to say 'Marie has a sweet smile' - sweet is the adjective describing the noun 'smile'. However if you are going to describe the action of smiling, it is correct to say 'Marie smiled sweetly'. Remember that 'good' is an adjective and 'well' is an adverb. So please stop saying things like 'He danced good'

For questions and comments, email: the speechcoach_ja @yahoo.com.

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