Confusing grammar mistake in English - Using I or me

The most confusing mistake in English grammar -- Using I or me?

You think you are good at English?
No matter how proficient you are, I'm sure you continue to come across new words, grammar references or usages which, though appear technically right, are big time bloopers. And for those who are still getting a grip of the language, ha haha, what can I say, welcome to the club!

So, one of the most commonly made mistakes in English is the confusing confusion between using I or me?
How would it sound if someone were to say "Me love you" or "Me am ready". Or if your friend were to ask you "Are you following I?" or "Give it to I".
I'm sure your friend's going to instantly ask you "Who's Mr. I??"
Here are some rules that will help you choose between I and me:

Rule No 1)
'I' is nominative whereas 'me' is accusative.
The nominative case is used for the subject of the verb, i.e. the word which denotes who/what does what the verb says. The accusative case marks the object of the verb, i.e. the word which receives the action of the verb.
In the sentence 'He loves me', 'He' is nominative and 'me' is accusative.
Don't get it?

Ok, let's make it simple with Rule No 2)
'I' is used as a subject pronoun whereas 'me' is used as an object pronoun.
Hmmmmm??
We know that both 'I' and 'me' are pronouns.
The subject pronoun is used to refer to the one that does things. Like, in the sentence "He saw me", he is the subject pronoun.
The object pronoun is used to refer to the one who has the thing done to him. Now, in the same sentence, "He saw me", me is the object pronoun.
So when you have to ask someone to keep a secret, you say, "This is between you and me", 'you and me' is the object of the preposition 'between'.

Rule No 3)
If you are still getting confused between I or me, here's a cheat rule.
Remove the unnecessary parts in the sentence for correct phrasing.
For example, here's a test sentence: Is it "You and I should have dinner sometime" or "You and me should have dinner sometime". Confused?
Now, use the cheat-rule and remove a part of this sentence "You and" as is temporarily not required. Now read the sentence.
"I should have dinner sometime"

Or "Me should have dinner sometime" Now this definitely sounds nonsensical!
That leaves you with the correct answer, which is "You and I should have dinner sometime".
Let's try this cheat-rule again! Consider "You and (I or me) are going to the prom tonight".
Apply the cheat-rule of using I or me in the sentence all by itself.
We have "I am going to the prom tonight" vs "Me am going to the prom tonight".
Now we know that I definitely works for this sentence, so the correct usage would be "You and I are going to the prom tonight"!

Coming to the last rule, RULE no 4)
Try to expand the sentences wherever possible to avoid ambiguity! Compare the sentences with 'I' or 'me' and then go back to the shortened sentence.
Look at this sentence! Is it:
Mom likes icecream more than me. OR
Mom likes icecream more than I.
Not sure?
Write down the complete sentence by expanding it.
It has to be either "Mom likes icecream more than me like icecream" or "Mom likes icecream more than I like icecream".
Isn't the answer obvious?
Now go back to the correct shortened sentence, which would be "Mom likes icecream more than I".

Now let keep these secret rules of using 'I' or 'me' between you and me!

[manapollo]

the best explanation you will ever see anywhere! that CHEAT rule rocks

[cathyem]

i wish you would have made an example of the MOST COMMON misuse of the "i" vs "me"... in the objective form.
eg: "give the book to john and i" OR "give the book to john and me"
this is the mistake i hear most often:
"give the book to john and i" ME ME ME. give the book TO ME.
instead, you showed the subjective error twice.

i wish people would stop and think: do you say "about i", "to i", "for i" "because of i"?? NO. but ppl ALWAYS say for eg "you won because of john and i" NO NO NO!

[Sarahrules]

What if the sentence does not have a verb? Like would you say him and I or him and me?

[Syafina]

THANK YOU SO MUCH THIS VIDEO IS VERY HELPFUL

[TheTrainerjenn]

Best examples yet!!! THANK-YOU! Really helps!!

[dianaespinola]

Thanks!! I understand how to use I or me in a sentence, but in a short expression  it's okay to say you and I or it's you and me ? 

[IChangeMyName]

But... The way words are used changes even though its improper grammar- language evolves. For example in the UK not many people say the grammatically correct sentence "He is taller than I" apart from people who are considered to be quite posh or quite old. Its uncommon to say I instead of me in that sentence- it would be an upperclass way of saying it which would mark you out as being quite strange if you werent in "polite society" or a posh area...Or perhaps there are certain areas where they say that..maybe yorkshire lol im not sure? But id say its only people over a certain age or very posh people who do that usually ..

[bolobinboloban]

I got confused with the "this is between you and me", after the rules 3 and 4 of "you and I". And if "you and me" is the object of the sentence, can you use "us"? "This is between us"....?

[nataliiaponomar]

thank you for very useful lesson.
Can you help me with one question. I read a book called "me before you". And I wonder why the author use "me" here?
thanks )

[ChiValryWu]

Hey this is a great video, i was wondering what you used to create the animated text??? Pleas respond it would help me out greatly ^_^

[drbuzzmann]

Can YOU lower the music so students can truly comprehend what the narrator is attempting to state? Why have loud piano music playing when you have student attempting to understand what the narrator is stating? It amazes me how anyone feels this is the BEST way to teach anyone! An individual is speaking while in the background music drowns out out what the individual is stating! CRAZY!

[jmdentz]

You changed the meaning of the sentence Mom likes icecream more than me --- implies she would rather have the icecream than her own child.

[jimmynabors]

The large majority of people make the mistake of always using "and I" so using that in rule 3 for both examples gives the impression that you shouldn't use "and me" for someone not paying full attention. Another thought is that you should never end a sentence with "and I". (<- except for this one :)

[philzimmerman]

Thank you for this video.  It drives me nuts when I hear this error.  The problem is that so many people hear this mistake so often that it sounds correct to them.
My other pet peeve is when people put an “r” on the end of a word that is not there: idear instead of idea, tornader instead of tornado, etc.  The second one I have heard from one of the most popular news anchors on CBS.  This habit seems to be more prevalent in certain geographical region and some people consider it part of an accent, but it is just mispronounced.

[YaBoiPiO]

Great video and very helpful tips. Now me can write grammatically correct instagram captions!

[MrEarthboundKing]

Thank you so much it help me so much.

[Robert-ryxe]

3:35 But "I are going to the prom tonight" Doesn't make sense.

[ebojfmdboojoh]

Someone just asked me. 'K and I and whoever wants to come are going for dinner on Friday. Are you free?' is this sentence correct

[cuckoovibe]

He is taller than me or I(am). Plz help me with this.

[Juan]

but these rule get broken all the time. what about, for instance, No Doubt' song: YOU and ME we used to be together