# you and I, you and me



## winstona lennon

hi! 
I'd like to know when do you use "you and me" and when "you and I"?

Lenny Kravitz song says; "You and I, stay together, we are one." 

Why it doesn't say you and me?


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## elirlandes

"You and I" are verb subjects
"You and me" are verb objects

You and I give the book to him.
He gives the book to you and me.


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## Peterdg

En este caso, el correcto es "You and I stay together". La razón es que "you" e "I" son sujetos del verbo y no se dice "Me stay" sino "I stay".

Sin embargo se oye a menudo "you and me stay together" (creo sobre todo en EEUU).


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## aztlaniano

Welcome, winstona lennon! 
Ya te han explicado el uso correcto.


Peterdg said:


> Sin embargo se oye a menudo "you and me stay together" (creo sobre todo en EEUU).


No creo que sea sobre todo en EEUU, pero desde luego se oye mucho.
También se oyen, como una especie de "sobrecorrección", frases al estilo de "He gives the book to you and I", o "He gives the book to you and myself".
Total, no te acomplejes.


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## misscanteloupe

Estimado Pterdg no estoy de acuerdo con lo de "you and me stay together"!! suena horrible! estoy segura que es you and I stay together (en USA)....


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## obz

misscanteloupe said:


> Estimado Pterdg no estoy de acuerdo con lo de "you and me stay together"!! suena horrible! estoy segura que es you and I stay together (en USA)....



Por supuesto lo decimos así en mi país, maldicho lo está, pero se dice muchísimo... también aquí en Canadá se comete frecuentemente. En la tele, películas, música, el hombre cualquiera,  incluso la gente educada... Sí, hay algunos que no lo dicen, pero ese error alcance casi cada rincón del mundo angloparlante.


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## winstona lennon

thanks everybody!


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## Peterdg

misscanteloupe said:


> Estimado Pterdg no estoy de acuerdo con lo de "you and me stay together"!! suena horrible! estoy segura que es you and I stay together (en USA)....


Estoy completamente de acuerdo de que suena horrible. No obstante ...


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## Istriano

Me and Jane went to the store.
Jane and I went to the store.

It is you and I.
It's you and me.

It is I.
It's me.


Both acceptable. See here for more details: http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/me[1]


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## aztlaniano

Istriano said:


> Me and Jane went to the store.
> _Suena llamativamente inculto._
> 
> 
> 
> It's you and me.
> It's me.
> _Son tan frecuentes que parecen normales._


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## elirlandes

Istriano said:


> Me and Jane went to the store.
> Jane and I went to the store.
> 
> It is you and I.
> It's you and me.
> 
> It is I.
> It's me.
> 
> 
> Both acceptable. See here for more details: http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/me[1]



Often used - yes.
Acceptable, or correct english - no.


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## MOMO2

obz said:


> Por supuesto lo decimos así en mi país, maldicho lo está, pero se dice muchísimo... también aquí en Canadá se comete frecuentemente. En la tele, películas, música, el hombre cualquiera, incluso la gente educada... Sí, hay algunos que no lo dicen, pero ese error alcance casi cada rincón del mundo angloparlante.


 
Según yo depende del hecho que en cada rincón del mundo angloparlante hay gente desafortunada que no ha podido/sabido/querido estudiar como dios manda.


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## Istriano

Things change, 100 years ago things like_ It's we/I_ and_ Whom did you see? _were frequent in speech, and_ I just ate _was objected to.
Spanish people may consider things like _¿Que pasó?_ or _Entrar a_ horrible mistakes, but in Spanish speaking America and Canary Islands people talk like this.
It has nothing to due with ''inadequate/incomplete grammar acquisition''.


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## obz

MOMO2 said:


> Según yo depende del hecho que en cada rincón del mundo angloparlante hay gente desafortunada que no ha podido/sabido/querido estudiar como dios manda.



Vaya, espero que no te ofendas, pero que absurdidad! Quien eres que digas que nos manda dios??? 

Las lenguas son dispositivos humanos. Y "mio amico" porque sera que no decís "Ego sum" sino "Io sono" en tu pais? Dios quiso que el latín se convirtiera en italiano? "Non credo che si".... se había evolucionado el lenguaje durante la transcurso del tiempo y culturas humanas. Es mas, antes de latin hubo otros idiomas, y antes de aquellos otros, hasta los primeros sonidos murmurados por las bocas del hombre.
Cual quiso dios?

le va a pasar a ingles (algún día) lo que ha sucedido al latín... antes de tanto tendremos mas variedades de ingles que latín

Estoy muy a favor de que se diga "you and I" en vez de "you and me" y ademas muy de acuerdo estoy de que esta mal dicho, no obstante la gente dirá lo que quiera, y es ridículo que involucres a dios... no tiene nada que ver.


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## aztlaniano

obz said:


> , y es ridículo que involucres a dios..


It's just an expression, obz, meaning "in proper conditions", more or less.


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## Ynez

Esta es la historia de siempre. Los que decís que es incorrecto decir "You and me are..." podríais mostrarnos una fuente de prestigio donde se diga que es incorrecto. Mientras tanto, solo sabemos que es lo más normal del mundo mundial. ¿O no?


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## la_machy

Yes, 'como Dios manda' is a set phrase which means 'de forma correcta'. God has nothing to do with it.

But you are right, obz. Languages change everyday like a flowing river.

Saludos


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## obz

Que vergüenza entonces. disculpas pido.

I'll just be over here trying to wipe the egg off of my face


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## aztlaniano

Ynez said:


> Esta es la historia de siempre. Los que decís que es incorrecto decir "You and me are..." podríais mostrarnos una fuente de prestigio donde se diga que es incorrecto. Mientras tanto, solo sabemos que es lo más normal del mundo mundial. ¿O no?


¿Et tú, Ynez?
"I" is nominative, "me" is dative or accusative. Using a dative or accusative as a subject is a sinsentido, con o sin una Real Academia Inglesa que lo confirme.

(None of us is without sin, obz. Besides, I agree with you on avoiding divine intervention in linguistic questions. But I'm still hoping to see an improvement in grammar instruction in anglophone countries, si Dios quiere.)


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## Ynez

aztlaniano said:


> ¿Et tú, Ynez?



A mí no me suena horrible.


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## obz

aztlaniano said:


> (None of us is without sin, obz. Besides, I agree with you on avoiding divine intervention in linguistic questions. But I'm still hoping to see an improvement in grammar instruction in anglophone countries, si Dios quiere.)



Thanks, but it's all good, I have made bigger errors before and have yet to make bigger ones in the future. Though I certainly won't be forgetting that saying anytime soon! 
That alone is wrth the price of a self inflicted egg on the face


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## Arrius

Nobody has mentioned the oblique case after a preposition: _for you and me_, _between you and me etc._, which also applies to other pronouns. But probably because _me_ is so aften used in the (grammatically) wrong place, it is often replaced ungrammatically by_ I_ where _me_ belongs. I have even heard H.M. Queen Elizabeth say, "_It is a great ple-asure for the Duke_ (before he was promoted) _and I to be among you today_" when she should have said _for the Duke and me_. However, it is the incorrect form that you will more often hear. And the venerable pop-star Sir Cliff Richards sang in his hit of yesteryear, "In the Country": _Hurry,hurry, hurry, the time is passing by. You don't need a ticket - it belongs to you and *I *_(which is wrong).


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## Judica

Istriano said:


> Me and Jane went to the store.
> Jane and I went to the store.
> 
> It is you and I.
> It's you and me.
> 
> It is I.
> It's me.
> 
> 
> Both acceptable. See here for more details: http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/me[1]



Interesting. I would never say Me and Jane went to the store.

Break it down to see whether or not it makes sense.

Me went to the store? No. (Unless you are a 17th Century pirate )

I went to the store? Yes.

Jane went to the store? Yes.

So the correct version would be to say, "Jane and I went to the store."


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## elirlandes

I remember reading once that the BBC used to end its news reports by having the presenter say "it is good night _from John and me_" (which is correct). When people started writing in thinking they were being smart (incorrectly) in hyper-correcting the phrase to "it is good night from John and I", the presenters started using "it is good night _from _John and _from_ me" to make the arguement that "I" is incorrect in this case.


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## Spug

Ynez said:


> A mí no me suena horrible.



Pues a mí sí. _You and me_ en el sujeto de una oración suena horrible, pero _horrible_. Revela una tremenda falta de enseñanza. Puedes consultar cualquier fuente de gramática inglesa para verificarlo.

"It's me." Bien aceptable hoy en día, aunque es incorrecto según las reglas. Éste es un caso en que una norma ha superado a la regla. Tanto que decir "It is I" suena antiguo y altisonante. Pero es correcto.

Hay muchas frases que son gramaticalmente incorrectas pero que se oyen cada día y son acetables. Algunos ejemplos son "It's me" y "Who are you talking to?" (dos errores en la última, pero completamente aceptable). Pero "Jane and me went to the store"... por favor, nooooooo. Así hablan los nenes que todavía duermen en pañales.  Y los anafalbetos.

Saludos.


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## aztlaniano

Spug said:


> Y los analfabetos.


Homer Simpson y Peter Griffin (de The Family Guy) son ejemplos. Y todos los raperos.


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## elirlandes

aztlaniano said:


> Homer Simpson y Peter Griffin (de The Family Guy) son ejemplos. Y todos los raperos.


Y fútobistas (estilo David Beckham etc)


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## capials

When I get a telephone call ,I answer :      *It is I* !  and this sounds odd.
Usual is:
 it's me


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## elirlandes

capials said:


> When I get a telephone call ,I answer :      *It is I* !  and this sounds odd.
> Usual is:
> it's me


It may sound odd, but it sounds gramatically correct to me...
You could avoid the oddness of "it is I" and the incorrectness of "it is me" by saying "I am X". You would, of course, never say "me is X".


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## aztlaniano

elirlandes said:


> It may sound odd, but it sounds gramatically correct to me...
> You could avoid the oddness of "it is I" and the incorrectness of "it is me" by saying "I am X". You would, of course, never say "me is X".


You could also say "This is capials", or in response to the question "Is capials there'?": "This is he" (not "him", please, although some would say that).


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## Arrius

_It is I_ or _It is me,_ whether both grammatically correct or not, must perforce always be right semantically even if a parrot or a minah bird answers the 'phone!


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