'You and me' or 'You and I' - English In A Minute

115,216 views ・ 2020-09-28

BBC Learning English


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Let's look at how to avoid confusion
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between 'me' and 'I'.
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Now, the main difference is simple.
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Use 'I' when you are the subject of a clause.
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And use 'me' when you are the object
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Now, that's easy enough – but here is where
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it starts to get more complicated.
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If you've got two people, say 'Sam and me',
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or should that be 'Sam and I'?
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Well, this question is most important in formal
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language – writing rather than speaking.
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If you're using formal language, you need
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to think whether you are the subject or the
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object.
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'Sam and I are making a video.'
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'Tom and I are getting coffee.'
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'If you've got a problem, talk to Sam or me.'
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'You're going to be working with me and Tom.'
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An easy way to check is to take out the other
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person (sorry Sam).
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Now it should be easy to see I should say
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'I'm making a video', or
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'if you've got a problem, talk to me.'
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So, just remember that 'you' and 'I' are subjects,
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while the objects are 'me' and 'you'.
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