I or me?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi, I have a question: my private English teacher told me not to say “Tom and me”…
I asked her why but she didn’t find any grammatical explanation. She only said that it was “Tom and I”.
Does anyone know the reason? (I don’t want to learn an unfounded English!!) Thank you very much.

2

You can say “Me and Tom” (careful users avoid this expression) or “Tom and I” (is always OK)

To my knowledge, your expression is unnatural, that’s all (e.g. native speakers don’t use it).

3

Hi Arevalce

The following sentences are grammatically correct:

  • Tom and I went swimming.
  • Tom and I are twins.
  • Most people can’t see any difference between Tom and me.
  • Sally invited Tom and me to her party.

In other words:
You can use “Tom and I” as the subject of a sentence or clause.
You can use “Tom and me” as the object of a verb or preposition.

As Alex pointed out, in very informal English, people will often use “me and Tom” instead of “Tom and I”. However, this would not be acceptable in formal writing.

In addition, because native speakers have often been taught the same overly general “rule” your teacher gave you, they often end up saying “Tom and I” when the grammatically correct version would actually be “Tom and me”!
.

4

Thank you very much for your explanation, it’s been very helpful :smiley:

5

It should be “Tom and I”
There is no verb in between the two subject pronouns, therefore, there is no action implied that would need a subject to fall on to, besides the connector “and” requieres having the same elements before and after it:

If the sentence has a Subject pronoun “he” (“he” would replace “Tom”) before the connector an equal kind of pronoun should follow: “I”·

Tom and I

or

He and I

6

Cisco, until you know what role “Tom and I” or “Tom and me” play in the sentence. If it’s the object, then “Tom and me” is correct. You can’t tell without context.

7

Barb, thanks to you I learnt something new and helped me getting to know English better, I appreciate you taking the time to response to my input. God Bless you.

Cisco

8

Hi Amy and Barb

What is your take on

.

Many thanks in advance

Tom