I or me ? 😫

When to use I and when to use me ?

This can be confusing for both native speakers and non- native speakers of English 😩

To start with, let’s do a little quiz. 📝

Which sentences are correct?

1. Me and my friends love learning English with our fabulous teacher!
2. My teacher told my friend and me off for talking in class.
3. My teacher and I discussed how to improve my essay writing skills.
4. Could you please email my friends and I the lesson notes ?

Let’s see how you did!

1. Me and my friends love learning English with our fabulous teacher! ❌
2. My teacher told my friend and me off for talking in class. ✔️
3. My teacher and I discussed how to improve my essay writing skills. ✔️
4. Could you please email my friends and I the lesson notes? ❌

Now, let’s take a look at why these sentences are correct or incorrect.

First of all, I is a subject pronoun and me is an object pronoun.
Please note: The subject of a sentence is the person or thing doing the action in the sentence or what the rest of the sentence is about. The object of a sentence is the person or thing the action is happening to.

So, let’s look at the sentences again.

1. Me and my friends love learning English with our fabulous teacher! ➡️ Me and my friends = subject in this sentence and me is an object pronoun so this is why it is incorrect.
2. My teacher told my friend and me off for talking in class.➡️ My friend and me =object in this sentence and me is an object pronoun so it is correct.
3. My teacher and I discussed how to improve my essay writing skills. ➡️My teacher and I = subject in this sentence and I is a subject pronoun so it is correct.
4. Could you please email my friends and I the lesson notes ?➡️My friends and I=object in this sentence and I is a subject pronoun so it is incorrect.

So, next time you are confused about which personal pronoun to use , think about whether you are the subject or the object in the sentence.

I hope this has helped you to know when to use I and when to use me. 😊