The main difference between I and me is that I is used as a subject while me is used as an object.
I and Me are both personal pronouns we use to refer to ourselves. Non-native English speakers often find themselves in trouble when it comes to the usage of these two pronouns I and me. In this article, we are going to discuss the grammatical difference between I and Me, and help you to avoid making mistakes in using these two pronouns.
Key Areas Covered
1. What Does I Mean
– Meaning, Usage
2. What Does Me Mean
– Meaning, Usage
3. Difference Between Between I and Me
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
I, Me, Pronouns
I – Meaning and Usage
‘I’ is the pronoun that we use when we are talking (individually) about ourselves. ‘I’ is always used as the subject of a sentence. That is, ‘I’ is a subject pronoun like he, she, it, and we, and is used in the nominative case.
I learn English.
I went to school by bus.
Everybody thinks that he should leave the country, but I don’t agree with them.
I love my Teddy.
In all three sentences, ‘I’ acts as the subject. If you want to say that you and your friend are doing something, always use ‘my friend and I’ as the subject. Likewise,
Jack and I went to school.
Neelam, Radha and I watched a movie.
Me – Meaning and Usage
‘Me’ is a pronoun that should be used as the object of a sentence. It is an object pronoun like us, him, her and them.
She likes to play with me.
He gave me a present.
He loves to talk with Jane, Alice and me.
‘Me’ is also used with prepositions. For example, look at the two sentences, “it was difficult for me to help her” and “Let’s keep this a secret between you and me.” In both these statements, ‘me’ is used with a preposition, but, ‘me’ is also acting as an object.
Many non-native speakers also have difficulty in distinguishing between the two usages, ‘X and I’, and ‘X and me’. For example, which formation is correct out of the following two sentences?
Eve and I had lunch together.
Eve and me had lunch together.
If you face difficulty in identifying the incorrect sentence, try removing the other nouns from the subject. Then you can easily note that, ‘me had lunch’ is not grammatically correct. So, the correct formation is,
Eve and I had lunch together.
Similarly, let’s analyze the two sentences, “This dish was made by Fred, George and me” and “this dish was made by Fred, George and I”. If we remove the other nouns in the sentences, we are left with, “this dish was made by I” and “this was made by me.” The correct grammar should be “this dish was made by Fred, George and me” since we are talking about the object of the sentence.
My sister loves me.
Comparisons Between I and Me
You should also pay attention to I and Me when you are using them in comparison. For example, look at the two sentences below.
“My mother loves Jane more than me.”
“My mother loves Jane more than I.”
Here, the difference in the two words, I and me have changed the complete meaning of the sentences. The first sentence implies that mother loves Jane more than she loves me. The second implies that mother loves Jane more than I love Jane.
Difference Between I and Me
Function
I is used as the subject while me is used as the object.
Pronoun
Moreover, I is a subject pronoun while me is an object pronoun.
Case
I is used in the nominative case whereas me is used in the accusative case.
Conclusion
I and me are both personal pronouns we use to refer to ourselves. The main difference between I and me is that I is used as a subject while me is used as an object.
