My mom is an English major--double major, actually, in literature and creative writing. Having an English major for a mom has some interesting side effects. We were required to speak properly. Just the other day I was having a conversation with my mom and I said "him," but I should have said, "he" and my mom gently corrected me.
So I have a grammar quiz for you, answers included, about the use of the word "I."
1. Wendell and I went on vacation.
2. This is a picture of Denae and I.
3. I just need to grab something out of Dad and I's room.
4. Emma, Anson, Nathan and I watched Star Wars the other night.
5. That was a great meeting for Zach and I. (This is a direct quote off of Little People, Big World.)
Hint: To tell if the "I" makes sense, remove the other people from the sentence, conjugate the verb to the singular, if necessary, and read.
1. Right. I went on a vacation. Makes perfect sense.
2. Wrong. This is a picture of I. Nope. No one would say that. This is a picture of me. Therefore, the sentence should read, "This is a picture of Denae and me."
3. Wrong. I need to grab something out of I's room. There is no such contraction as "I's" and everyone would say "my room." The corrected version, "I just need to grab something out of Dad's and my room."
4. Right. I watched Star Wars the other night. Yep, even without the names it makes sense.
5. Wrong. That was a great meeting for I. See. It sounds dumb without the other name. You would normally say, "That was a great meeting for me." So, "That was a great meeting for Zach and me," is the correct choice.
Wasn't that fun? Feel free to leave your own grammar tips or correct any of my grammatical mistakes.
I need to give a shout out to Jessica and thank her for the format.
8 comments:
Yeah for me! I got 100% correct, with no help! Actually, I've been known to be a stickler about the right use of "I," but I can't ever bring myself to correct people.
P.S. When are we going to play?
Thank-you for the lesson. I'm pretty sure that most of the time I get it right because my Dad is the KING of correcting people when they're wrong. But I get it confused when the word 'me' needs to be in there. Now I get it. And I'm also paranoid I got it wrong on my last post. Must check!
Wrong: Your the best.
Right: You're the best.
Oh and when people say, "you go girl."
Please stop it now. Thanks.
I can relate! My grandma always corrected my mom (and the rest of us). My mom has a degree in English, and she corrected us. I have a degree in English and I correct my family. (Out of habit, I corrected people even before I received my degree...not always an appreciated thing, by the way.)
My son is 9 and he corrects any one he can, whenever he can. And, if he manages to catch me saying something incorrectly, it makes his day.
I am proud to say I got them all right!
My biggest pet peeve is the word "prolly." Prolly isn't a word! The word you are searching for is PROBABLY!
So why didn't they teach me that trick in school. Very clever. I'll get it right from now on.
Hi Jenna,
I envy your attending blogapalooza and women's conference. Was every one from Utah? There for WC? Just curious.
Love reading your blog. Yup. Still love it. Still think we ought to be bff.
hayngrl
HynGrl,
Everyone there was either there for WC OR were from Utah. Oddly, WC is very anti baby so if you have a nursing baby you can't go. So I just went to BP.
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