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Using "I" as the object instead of the subject, like saying "The waiter brought drinks to my friend and I."
This is one of those grammatical errors that is so common that it is almost not a grammatical error anymore. It is so pervasive in podcasts, movies, TV shows, etc. that I just gloss over it nowadays
What exactly is wrong with that sentence?
Try this:
The waiter brought drinks to I.
Sounds werid as hell, right? That's what's wrong with that sentence. I is a subjective pronoun, not an objective pronoun. Adding "my friend and" in front of it doesn't change that.
I understand that it doesn't matter to a lot of people, and it doesn't matter for sentence clarity, but it sound weird AF to some folks.
Idk sounds pretty good to I.
Why is this so common? It drives me nuts.
Because of all the 'um actually' corrections from people whenever they'd say "Tom and me bought drinks." And not just to the point one starts thinking it's always "Tom and I" - I've had people 'correct' my 'to Tom and me', as well, because they think "Tom and me" is always incorrect.
This is also why I don't make a big deal about correcting others' grammar; it's often a tool people use to feel smarter (and thus superior) to other people. Language is a communication tool; if I know what you mean and there's limited ambiguity then I don't much care if you said 'would of' instead of 'would've'; and certainly not enough to interrupt a conversation to correct it.
Besides, between autocorrect, typos, and the brain's weird word-association tricks, a linguistics professor is capable of making significant grammar mistakes and not even notice, even if they'd know they were wrong if pointed out. So swooping in to tell them "hey you did this thing slightly wrong" in lieu of engaging with their intended point is not meaningful contribution.
Yes exactly. I didn't mention it above but it seems like the people who use "and I" incorrectly are the same ones trying to sound smarter by being more "proper" or formal. I agree people should just focus on the content of the message. I would not correct anyone in real life, but secretly inwardly it drives me crazy.
it seems like the people who use "and I" incorrectly are the same ones trying to sound smarter by being more "proper" or formal.
Yeah, that's exactly what makes it sound poorly educated to me.
idk, I notice the opposite to happen more often: e.g. "me and John went to the bar last weekend"