Posted on 12/12/2021 8:22:12 PM PST by SeekAndFind
But you and me ain’t no movie stars.
What we are is what we are.
We share a bed,
Some lovin’,
And TV, yeah.
And that’s enough for a workin’ man.
What I am is what I am.
And I tell you, babe,
Well that’s enough for me.
It kills me how often people misuse I or myself when me is the appropriate word. They seem to think it makes them sound smart.
“The lady doth protest too much, METHINKS,” “Hamlet” by Shakespeare. (Act III, Scene II)
“Just the two of us
Building castles in the sky
Just the two of us
You and I”
Proper grammar would ruin many a song...
Depends...
Following a preposition : you and me
Subject or following a form of “to be” verbs : you and I
Saying the “I” or “me” by itself in the sentence usually give a good clue
“Methinks, Therefore Me Am.” - philosopher Rene Descartes
Was just about to post the same....you saved me the time :)
I have heard that method of breaking the sentence into two sentences to determine is the best one.
People over-trick this:
“Who” and “whom” are pronouns: “who” is for the subjective case (the subject of a verb); “whom” is for the objective case (the object of a verb or preposition).
Example: “Who hit whom?” [Subject pronoun] hit [object pronoun].
It is not complicated when it is a simple use of “who” or “whom”; the principal legitimate confusion lies in use of either one in a clause/phrase, especially with their variations, “whoever” or “whomever”:
The proper simple use is obvious:
Wrong: “Give it to whoever.”
Right: “Give it to whomever.”
Where the pronoun functions as part of a clause/phrase produces the possible complication:
Wrong: “Give it to whomever wrote that memo.”
Right: “Give it to whoever wrote that memo.”
If the pronoun functions as the subject of a clause, then the subjective pronoun is used! The entire phrase above is the object of the preposition: “whoever” functions as the subject in the phrase; “wrote” functions as the verb; “memo” functions as the object:
Give it to [WHOEVER WROTE THAT MEMO].
The phrase, “whoever wrote that memo,” can function as a stand-alone sentence. Substitute a proper name to verify that: “Roger wrote that memo.” (”Roger” is clearly the subject performing the action; “memo” is clearly the object receiving the action.)
I often wonder what would happen to popular music if grammar were enforced strictly.
Rock, Country would become unsingable. Rap/hip hop would be even less unsingable.
Case in point:
“I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause I try, and I try, and I try, and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no”
Would become
“I am unable to receive....satisfaction”, etc
Then of course Johnny Paychecks tune would become much less memorable.
From
“Take this job and shove it
I ain’t working here no more
My woman done left and took all the reason
I was working for”
To
“Excuse me, sir, I believe I am going to avail myself of alternative opportunities in this world of commerce. I am recently out of a relationship, so I have additional lifestyle flexibility than I possessed previously”
And there goes a classic tune.....
“Doing otherwise is behavior up with which we should not put.”
Variations of that have often been used to denigrate proper grammar, implying that proper grammar is too stilted to deserve adherence.
The original statement is usually attributed to Winston Churchill, and has been quoted by many institutions in the past, including the grammar manual of the Harvard English Department.
The authenticity of attribution is still debated. Regardless, I dispute the use of such sentences to vilify proper grammar.
The mistake made by many (supposed) academic experts - including (ostensibly) Churchill - lies in conflating a specific word with a part of speech.
A preposition is a part of speech, not a word. It is true that several words are only known to function as prepositions in proper usage, but relying on that is deceptive.
I argue that in the above statement posted by you - and in the variations used in grammar manuals - the word “up” is functioning not as a preposition, but as an adverb modifying the verb “put”:
Put where? Put up!
“With” is indeed functioning as a preposition in your posted sentence, and belongs adjacent to “which”; while still formal, the resulting version is not stilted:
“Doing otherwise is behavior with which we should not put up.”
I repeat: A specific word is not the same thing as a part of speech.
Exactly. You and me are going to the fair. You are going to the fair. Me is going to the fair. Obviously wrong. I am going to the fair. You and I are going to the fair.
ROFL
I hope Santa brings you a sense of humor for Christmas.
So much racism. We all know good grammar is white privilege.
Easy way to remember -— if you take away the “you and I” or
“you and me”, will the sentence still make sense?
:)
However, I should like to remind us all of the continued widespread misuse of Dangling Participles and their ilk.
"As a long-time observer of the White House, the President's remarks were very disturbing."
Regards,
Hey, thanks to everyone who posted back to me in the affirmative. I don’t think I’ve ever had a post that had that many people agreeing with me.
I am now bracing for the replies disagreeing with me. :)
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