It’s All About Me…Or Is It I?

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grammar, helpful hints, possessives, writing

This one’s for Tim – last week he posted a comment, wondering when to use “me” and when to use “I” in a sentence. It can be tricky! From an official standpoint, “I” is a subject pronoun, while “me” is an object pronoun.

Saying “I” can make your speech sound more formal and impressive, but sometimes, it’s just plain bad grammar. We don’t often have the time in a conversation to pause and sort this out, so here’s a quick exercise that will help: When in doubt, omit the second person in the sentence.

For example:

Please join Lester and I for ice cream tomorrow.

Let’s remove Lester from the equation. What would you have said, speaking naturally?

Please join me for ice cream tomorrow.

How about another one?

The book belongs to Miranda and I.

Let’s get rid of Miranda and see what you would have said.

The book belongs to me.

Both of those sentences should use “me” as the correct pronoun. How about an example that uses “I” correctly?

David and I went to the store.

Remove David from the equation, and you would say:

I went to the store.

Hope this helps!

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Double Whammy Grammar

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apostrophe, grammar, writing, writing hints

It was a moment too good to pass up – I was running a few errands when I spied this grammatical gaffe. Apostrophe placement causes a lot of uncertainty – should one be placed before or after the “s”? Why?

I’m sure the author of this sign meant to boldly declare that his store would match the sale prices of any competitor. That all depends on how many competitors there are to begin with.

If there is one competitor, the apostrophe is placed after the word and before the “s,” like this:

We match all competitor’s ads.

I have a feeling this store has several competitors. We naturally end the word “competitors” with an “s” as we’re speaking, meaning more than one competitor. In that case, the sign should read:

We match all competitors’ ads.

If you start with only one of something, end the word with apostrophe + s. Even if it already ends with an “s.” Yes, even if it already ends with an “s.” For example:

Chris’s bike is shiny and red.

But if you’re already starting with a plural amount, end the word with s + apostrophe. Like this:

The boys’ bikes are shiny and red.

Let’s move on to the second part of this sign. “We match all competitor’s ad’s.”

The fact that “ad” was given an apostrophe + s indicates a possessive. But in this case, what exactly belongs to the ad? It’s a good question to ask if you’re in doubt. What belongs to the item I’m giving ownership to? If the answer is nothing, it doesn’t get an apostrophe anything. Because the author of this sign means he’ll match the prices of more than one ad, it should read:

We match all competitors’ ads.

I’m glad they’re able to offer the option of matching prices, because it makes my life a little easier. Hope this helps and makes your grammatical life a little easier, too!

Your vs. You’re: A Clear Case of Being Possessed…

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grammar, helpful hints, possessives, writing

Your? You’re? So, which is it? This culprit is spotted often, both in the blogosphere and in printed material. When in doubt, consider how the word is being used.

Your is second person possessive, used as an adjective to describe a noun.

Are these your pretzel M&M’s that I’m about to eat?

Your customers should be treated with great respect.

You’re is a contraction of “you are,” so if you could use the two words separately in a sentence, feel free to replace them with “you’re” instead.

You’re very smart to cash in on this deal so quickly.

You’re not going out of the house wearing that, are you?

When in doubt, if you can replace the word in question with “you are,” then go with “you’re.” Otherwise, it’s “your.”