Another grammar question

[johnnie]

When posting pictures and putting a caption on them, wouldn't it be right to say "Dad and me 1945" or "Jodi and me in Alaska"? It seems to me that it would be "blah blah and me" or even "me and blah blah". I have noticed that many people use "I" instead and it makes me question myself. Is it "Mom and I in the summer of '72" or is it "Mom and me in the summer of '72"?

Or "My hubby and I". That just seems so wrong. Am I whacked?

[Droopy]

1. You are indeed whacked

[johnnie]

6. Umm.. I meant concerning this question Droopy

Not in general. x(



How ya doing buddy? :hi:

[Dora]

2. It depends: "I" is subject, "me" is object

Compound subject: "My husband and I ate dinner together last night."

Compound object: "My in-laws took my husband and me out to dinner last night."

It's really that simple.

In your case, when titling photographs, "me" would be the appropriate word. However, for history's sake, future generations would probably appreciate it if you actually wrote your name.

[johnnie]

5. Thanks

I understand the rule, it just seems like so many people use the "I" when posting pictures that I wondered if I was missing "grammar rule 465; paragraph 6; line 2" or something.

[auntAgonist]

3. it should be

Mom and me, me and Dad .. because if you take the 'other' person out of the sentence it still makes sense, where as if you use Dad and I , the sentence is wrong if you remove 'Dad'

It's wrong to say "I in front of the statue"


wish I could explain it better..but there it is.

[CBGLuthier]

20. That's how I do it

Remove the extra people and see if it sounds right and you will usually make the right choice.

[IA_Seth]

22. That's how I was taught...

It's a lot simpler than learning all of the English mumbo-jumbo...

I went to the store
My dad and I went to the store
My dad and me went to the store
Me went to the store

My dad took my brother and me to the store
My dad took me to the store
My dad took my brother and I to the store
My dad took I to the store

Doesn't take a rocket scientist (or a grammarian - is that a word? It should be) to figure that out.

[petronius]

4. I think you should use "me"

I sort of recall that the rule was you should use the pronoun you would use if it was just you alone, as if the rest of the list wasn't there. So, you would caption a picture as "(Dad and) me in Alaska." On the other hand, it would be correct to say "(Dad and) I went to Alaska."

[anarch]

7. depends if you are a Rasta or not

"Here's a picture of I on the beach, gettin' irie."

[fishwax]

8. It depends upon what the caption says

I think in the examples you've provided (and generally) I'd say you're right. In that case the first person is the object, because the implied sentence is "this is Mom and I in the summer of '72." But in other captions "I" might be appropriate, if it occupies the subject position: "Mom and I ate the whole thing," "Bill and I dressed up like pirates for Halloween," "Joe and I had a ball at the reception," or others such as that.

[LaurenG]

9. Say the sentence as if you were talking ONLY about you

You would then use that word for you and the other person.

I ate dinner. My husband and I ate dinner. You wouldn't say me ate dinner

Will you take me? Will you take John and me. You wouldn't say will you take I.

[johnnie]

11. Right

Like I said up there, I know the rule. It is just when I see people who post pictures and then write a caption stating something like "My wife and I". In other words, when they are saying who is in the picture.

[Orsino]

10. "I," if it's shorthand for...

..."This is Dad and I on the beach." It sounds funny, but it's as correct as saying "It is I."

It's also correct, though, to say, "This is a picture of Dad and me." "Me" is the proper case for an object of a preposition.

Since your captions are sentence fragments, however, I doubt that anyone will pick this particular nit. Use either.

Here's another thought, though: if you plan on ever handing those pictures down to another generation, you might include your own name. There are photos of my ancestors that are unidentifiable now, because the owners used "me" or "I."

[johnnie]

12. But "it is I" is wrong

The proper phrase is "It is me".

[Orsino]

21. That's the most common usage nowadays, anyway. n/t

[johnnie]

23. It was what I read this morning before going to work

The book is "American English Usage and Style" by Paul W. Lovinger

I'm too lazy to write out the whole thing, but the author states:

"When your friend or relation responds to your knock with "Who's there?" you will probably not reply, "It is I." You are more likely to reply "It's me" - and so you should. Grammarians are on your side."

Then it goes on to quote some "Grammarians" such as H.W. Fowler, Sir Ernest Gowers, Wilson Follet and a few others.

[Orsino]

24. Yes. Grammarians are (or should be) ruled by usage.

Though they tend to be conservative, they are all eventually dragged kicking and screaming to various it's-mes.

"It is I" is becoming archaic, but it's hardly "wrong."

[Sequoia]

13. I have a clue for you.

I remember as a kid our English teacher told us this about the me and I. What you do is omit one of the words to see if the rest of the sentence makes sense.

Dad and I went camping in Yosemite. (I went camping in Yosemite) YES

Dad and me went camping in Yosemite. (Me went camping in Yosemite) NO

[RebelOne]

14. Take it from the grammar nazi here.

After all, I do make my living correcting grammar, spelling and punctuation in magazine articles.

The correct usage would be "Dad and me 1945" or "Jodie and me in Alaska." Mom and I, etc., is definitely incorrect. And it would be "My hubby and me," not "My hubby and I."

[johnnie]

15. That's what I thought

Thanks.

[Gormy Cuss]

18. The reason for the usage is what some can't grasp.

It's not a complete sentence and the usual clues on form of the pronoun are missing. I would never write "my hubby and I" on the back of the photo because it sounds incorrect but I'm not sure that I know a good way to articulate why it's incorrect. The best I can do is to assume the unspoken words ahead of it are "Here is a picture of..."

How would you explain it, oh grammar nazi?:hi:

[Katherine Brengle]

16. "Mom and I..." only works if it is followed by a verb...

like "Mom and I are coming over." Or something like that.

I hate captioning photos...

[AirmensMom]

17. Here you go:

http://www.oldandsold.com/articles10/voice-13.shtml

COMPOUND OBJECTS

Doesn't it sound familiar to hear someone say, "They invited you and I?" This is an example of one of the commonest mistakes in grammar. Here we have a compound object—that is, an object formed by two personal pronouns in the objective case joined by and. You will never experience any trouble with such constructions if you will consider each complete idea separately in the following manner.

EXAMPLE'S: 1. They invited you.

They invited me.

They invited you and me.

2. The manager hired him. The manager hired me.

The manager hired him and me.

In the preceding examples, the compound objects are both objects of verbs. But prepositions take objects, also. Prepositions, you recall, are words showing relationship, as, in, by, from, toward, over, under, between, etc.

No one would say, "Forward the mail to I," and yet many persons say, "Forward the mail to Mother and I." Here again you can always tell which form of the pronoun to use if you separate each sentence into as many ideas as it has parts in its compound object.

EXAMPLE: It was a great blow to her. It was a great blow to me.

It was a great blow to her and me.

One of the most troublesome prepositions is between, which always implies two objects, and therefore must have as its object either a plural noun or pronoun, or a compound object. Thus we must say, for example, "between us" or "between you and me," not "between you and I." Say, "John sat between her and me," not, "John sat between she and I."

I hope that helps. :hi:

[barb162]

19. Since there is no sentence, it makes no diff whether you use

I or me