Five errors you may make with I
If there is a contest for the title of the most popularly used word, I will put up a good fight. It is one term that almost everyone has cause to use every day. (Not everyday because its meaning is different from every day – two words.) But as common as it is, using I demands caution to avoid some five errors associated with it.
I is a personal pronoun which a person speaking or writing uses to refer to themselves. It acts as the subject of the verb while me is the object. As a result, it is often found at the beginning of clauses:
I am around.
I made a mistake.
I have done the assignment.
If I get there early, I will visit the restaurant.
That is our cool, lovely I in action in the four sentences. Now, lets identify the areas to watch as far as the application of the word is concerned.
Non-capitalisation
I is a unique word because it always appears in a capital letter. Most other words – including other personal pronouns like he, she, we, you and they – only appear in capital letters when they begin clauses. But in the case of I, it should always be capitalised. You dont use letter i to replace I. If you do so – as many do especially on social media – you are doing English grammar an avoidable injustice:
I want bread. (Correct)
i told him i wanted bread. (Wrong)
I told him I wanted bread. (Correct)
Mis-contracting I am
When you contract I am, the simple way to put is Im. Any other variant is foul. It is, for instance, neither Am nor am:
Am not sure he will come. (Wrong)
Im not sure he will come. (Correct)
I will call you when am done. (Wrong)
I will call you when Im done. (Correct)
Placing I before other pronouns or nouns in compound subjects
When you have I in a compound subject, the temptation to first mention it is high. Examples are I and you and I and the two boys. But it is grammatically impolite to refer to yourself first in such a context. Let the other element come first, with the I pushed forward:
I and you need to meet. (Not appropriate.)
You and I need to meet. (Good)
I as well as the three children have not eaten. (Deficient)
The three children as well as I have not eaten. (Correct)
Some experts argue that if the action involved is negative, I can come first. Others add that in informal situations the same can happen. These are a little understandable but it is always safer to stay on the side of popular rules.
Using I objectively
As earlier noted, I is a subjective pronoun. So, you should normally allow it to maintain the right position. Dont transfer its heritage to me, which is the objective. It is only in the passive voice that the positions naturally change. In that case, I outright change to me:
He gave it to I. (Wrong)
He gave it to me. (Correct)
Jide didnt greet I. (Wrong)
Jide didnt greet me. (Correct)
Me killed the snake. (Wrong)
I killed the snake. (Correct)
The snake was killed by me. (Correct. Passive voice.)
Between you and me?
Remember that we have confronted this knotty expression on more than two occasions in this class. Some say between you and I while others say between you and me. What is the correct structure? The latter because it is the objective pronoun that follows between:
The secret is between you and they. (Wrong)
The secret is between you and them. (Correct)
The secret is between you and I. (Wrong)
The secret is between you and me. (Correct)