Do you know how to remember when to use ‘I’ and when to use ‘me’ in a sentence? It seems a lot of people find this tricky (including our politicians), when in reality it is quite simple if you follow a rule that cuts out all the grammar jargon that scares most people (me included).

I is the first person singular subject pronoun, which means that it refers to the person performing the action of a verb, so you would say:

I fancy a piece of chocolate
not
Me fancy a piece of chocolate (unless you are a Minion - substitute banana; or the Cookie Monster - substitute cookie)

Me is an object pronoun, which means that it refers to the person that the action of a verb is being done to, or to whom a preposition refers, for instance:

She told Ellie and me to have a piece of chocolate
not
She told Ellie and I to have a piece of chocolate

The rule
The best way to work it out is to try out the sentence to see if you would use ‘me’ or ‘I’ if it were just you on your own:

Me is going out         NO
I am going out           YES

Therefore:
Charlotte and I are going out
 
He gave it to me       YES
He gave it to I            NO

Therefore:
He gave it to Charlotte and me

Not so hard after all ...

If you have any stories or comments, I’d love to hear them.

Why is it called the Oxford comma? Why not the Cambridge comma or the London comma?

The Oxford Comma, also known as the serial comma or the Harvard comma, was traditionally used by readers, printers and editors at Oxford University Press. Not all writers and publishers use it, but it can clarify the meaning of a sentence when the items in a list are not single words. It is placed immediately before the coordinating conjunction (usually and, or, or nor) when you have a series of three or more terms.

I love my parents, Eric Clapton and Carole King.
I love my parents, Eric Clapton, and Carole King. 

The first sentence, without the Oxford comma, could be misconstrued, and you might be fooled into thinking Eric Clapton and Carole King were my parents (if you were exceptionally gullible!). The second sentence, with the Oxford comma, makes it quite clear that they are three different sets of people. You could, of course, rewrite the sentence completely to read: I love Eric Clapton, Carole King and my parents. But if you are listing in order of preference, then the Oxford comma helps! 

If it doesn’t make the sentence ambiguous to miss it out, then it is purely a matter of preference.

What are your thoughts on using the Oxford comma? Do you? ... or don't you?