I or me?

Especially when speaking, people (even native English speakers) get the words 'I' and 'me' mixed up. Here, we guide you through some of the most common pitfalls and give you one (yes, only one!) simple rule that never fails.

The problems
Many people use 'me' when they should use 'I'. For example, you might hear people say things such as "Gerry and me fed the cat" or "the last to leave were Simon and me". In these examples, 'me' has been used incorrectly. 'I' should be used instead. This is what we're all taught early on in school.

Unfortunately, the fear of using the word 'me' incorrectly sometimes leads to another problem. For example, people trying (and failing) to be grammatically correct may say, "the cat followed Andrew and I" or "they talked about Matt and I".
In these cases, 'I' has been used incorrectly and should be replaced by 'me'.

Want an easy explanation? Keep reading...

The rule: If it works by itself, it's correct.
Get rid of the additional person's name and just use either 'I' or 'me' in the sentence. It will immediately become clear which is correct.

Gerry and me… fed the cat.
'Me' or 'I'…fed the cat?

You would say "I fed the cat" and not "Me fed the cat" so it should be "Gerry and I fed the cat".

They talked about… Matt and I
They talked about…'me' or 'I'?

The correct answer is, of course, they "talked about me" and not "they talked about I', so it should be "They talked about Matt and me".

Don't forget...
Finally, don't get caught out using 'me' in phrases such as "Vivian has longer hair than me". What is really being said is "Vivian has longer hair than I do", not "Vivian has longer hair than me do". And remember, this rule is the same if you are in doubt about using 'we' or 'us'.

Related articles:
I’ll learn you to write proper!