Real World Grammar Usage Is Not My Cup of Tea

If enough people start making the same grammar mistake, the apparent rule is that it is no longer an error. Grammar rules are not set in stone because they change to conform with real-world usage. Real-world usage aside, the pervasive use of "me and so-and-so" in our culture drives me a bit crazy!

Once upon a time, we would say, "George and I went to the store." When I was a kid, if someone said, "Me and George went to the store," the listener would quietly come to the conclusion that the speaker was a bit slow. Nowadays, turn on the television and the newscaster is saying, "Me and ... blah, blah, blah." Talk radio hosts say it. I have been shocked to hear highly educated people like lawyers say "Me and so-and-so" on a regular basis.

You know what's even scarier? I have intentionally included the "me and George" error and other grammatical mishaps in this article and ran it through Microsoft Word's spelling and grammar check. Guess what? The constant "me and ..." usage did not even show up as a grammar error!

Is this sloppy grammar just the product of a narcissistic "Me, me, me culture?" Have we become sloppy? Or am I way behind the times and getting dumb as a result because I am not using real-world usage?

I'll be honest ... it's been a very long time since I sat through a semester of grammar class. I can see or hear what's off with a sentence but do not know what the error is specifically called. So, here's the practical, common sense rule as I understand it from second grade:

Take out the third person and see if the sentence makes sense. If you're saying "Me and George went to the store," keep George out of it and try this: "Me went to the store." Sounds ridiculous, eh? On the other hand,If you were to use the correct version, which is "George and I went to the store," split up the correct sentence and we have, "George went to the store," and "I went to the store." This is an easy, sure-fire way to figure out if your sentence makes grammatical sense.

Simple grammar tips aside, those of us who are offended by the constant "me and so-and-so" grammar can at least take comfort in the fact that pronoun variations such as "Me and him went to the store" or "Her and me went to the store" have not yet skyrocketed to the top of the common usage charts.

Now that I've ranted, me going to the store. Maybe George wants to go, too.

About The Author Urbain Beck is a freelance writer who has authored numerous online and off-line articles and technical reports. If you have written online content and would like to show off your writing, be sure to submit some blurbs at The Blurbosphere. You'll receive one-way links (http://www.blurbosphere.com) from PR2, PR3 and PR4 blogs at no charge. Visit http://www.blurbosphere.com for details.