following the preposition w/the personal pronoun

Here’s a grammar error that is far too frequently used by people all over the world, including the media.

It irks the hell out of me – more so because people actually think they’re being grammatically proper when they do this.

The problem is that, when we’re young and asking our teachers, “Can me and Johnny feed the fish?” they reply, “Johnny and I!!” but never explain why that rule is thus applied.

So, we go on well into adulthood believing that this applies to EVERYTHING involving the personal pronoun and another person.

Mary and I went to the zoo. Correct.

You should go to the zoo with Mary and I. Incorrect.

Words like “with”, “of”, “into” and “to” are called prepositions.

Prepositions are always followed by the object of the preposition, which is a noun or a pronoun.

Think about it. “I” is never an object. It is a subject. “Me” is always an object. You can’t follow a preposition with “I”.

John wanted to go to the movies with I. wrong

April did this to I. wrong

You can’t access the room without I. wrong

Sounds awful, doesn’t it?

You might want to come with me. correct

You might want to come with Ellen and me. correct

At this point, many try to counter my point by saying “Well, it’s different when it’s with another person in there. You can’t say ‘with I’ but you say ‘with Mark and I’.”

No, you don’t.

For more about prepositions and objects of prepositions, here’s a pretty good grammar link.