# I or me, in this instance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547 "2011-10-04T14:05:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Heckity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Heckity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heckity)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/1 "2011-10-04T14:05:20Z")
When you are writing a letter that includes a list of those who comprise a committee, should one use I or me? For example: The members of the committee were John Lastname (title); Mary Lastname (title); Suzie Lastname (title), and I (title), Chair of the committee. Or should it be: The members of the committee were John Lastname (title); Mary Lastname (title); Suzie Lastname (title), and me (title), Chair of the committee. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/2 "2011-10-04T14:06:06Z")
I. I is the subject, not the object. Edit: A trick to easily figure this out is to strip out all of the extra words, leaving just the subject and verb, correcting for case: “I was”? Or “Me was”? When you look at it that way, the answer is obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/3 "2011-10-04T14:06:17Z")
I. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/4 "2011-10-04T14:06:35Z")
It is I. Wow, triple simulpost! ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/5 "2011-10-04T14:09:25Z")
The way I learned this was to eliminate the other names, and think: ‘I was in attendance’, or ‘me was in attendance’. ‘I’ is proper grammar in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/6 "2011-10-04T14:11:09Z")
A rule of thumb: Take the rest of the people out of the sentence. Then ask yourself whether you would use “I” or “me.” For example, would you say: “I was in attendance” or “Me was in attendance.” Another example: “The house belongs to Sara and me” is correct because if you took out Sara, you would say “The house belongs to me.” However “Sara and I own the house” is correct because if you took out Sara, you’d say “I own the house.” Make sense? ETA: What postcards said. ---
**Author:** ![Heckity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Heckity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heckity)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/7 "2011-10-04T14:13:16Z")
Despite my edit - the answer remains the same. Thank you my nimble fingered grammar gurus. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/8 "2011-10-04T14:15:15Z")
Well now. I believe with your edit, the correct pronoun is now “me.” ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/9 "2011-10-04T14:17:14Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > nm I must have missed the original post, because the answers that came after didn’t make sense. With the sentence as written, as I see it, it should be “me”. > [@](#): > > For example: > > The members of the committee were John Lastname (title); Mary Lastname (title); Suzie Lastname (title), and I (title), Chair of the committee. > > Or should it be: > > The members of the committee were John Lastname (title); Mary Lastname (title); Suzie Lastname (title), and me (title), Chair of the committee. > > Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/10 "2011-10-04T14:18:57Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I must have missed the original post, because the answers that came after didn’t make sense. With the sentence as written, as I see it, it should be “me”. You are correct, the OP completely changed the sentence structure on edit. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/11 "2011-10-04T14:19:09Z")
Huh, shows what I know. I also employ the rule of stripping away the rest of the sentence and asking myself what pronoun I would use if it stood alone. I suppose it is grammatically incorrect to say “The member in attendance was me”? Edit: People, stop editing! I’m not sure what’s going on anymore! ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/12 "2011-10-04T14:20:03Z")
I think we all just got punked. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/13 "2011-10-04T14:20:31Z")
Formal grammar requires that the complement be in subjective case (“It is I”); however, it is very common for people to use the objective case (“It’s me”) in these kinds of constructions. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/14 "2011-10-04T14:23:25Z")
This is one of many reasons to avoid serving on committees. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/15 "2011-10-04T14:37:06Z")
> [@Heckity](#): > > The members of the committee were John Lastname (title); Mary Lastname (title); Suzie Lastname (title), and I (title), Chair of the committee. Correct. > [@Heckity](#): > > Or should it be: > > The members of the committee were John Lastname (title); Mary Lastname (title); Suzie Lastname (title), and me (title), Chair of the committee. Incorrect. > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Well now. I believe with your edit, the correct pronoun is now “me.” Huh? (See below.) > [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I must have missed the original post, because the answers that came after didn’t make sense. With the sentence as written, as I see it, it should be “me”. Huh? I’m assuming the quotes from **Heckity** I used above are the edited ones. The traditional rule is that forms of the verb “to be” (is, was, were, etc.) take the nominative case in the predicate. Thus “it is I” is correct, “it is me” is not. Likewise, “the members were they and I” is correct, “the members were them and me” is not. Now, in common usage, a lot of folks say “it is me,” which sounds natural whereas “it is I” sounds stilted. I don’t have any reason to get up in arms about that (I do it too), but the traditional grammatically correct structure is “it is I.” > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Huh, shows what I know. I also employ the rule of stripping away the rest of the sentence and asking myself what pronoun I would use if it stood alone. I suppose it is grammatically incorrect to say “The member in attendance was me”? Yes, it is incorrect. > [@](#): > > Edit: People, stop editing! I’m not sure what’s going on anymore! I don’t know what was there before any editing, but I’m confused by the answers saying to use “me.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/16 "2011-10-04T14:44:36Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Formal grammar requires that the complement be in subjective case (“It is I”); however, it is very common for people to use the objective case (“It’s me”) in these kinds of constructions. I concur with the above and posters who say traditionally, the complement should be in the subjective/nominative case. So “I” is correct. However, the objective case is often used in spoken English. (I mean, have you ever heard someone exclaim, “Look, over there! It’s she!” instead of “it’s her”?) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/17 "2011-10-04T14:49:20Z")
So it wouldn’t be correct to say “The member was me?” Or, to change context entirely, “The walrus is him.” You’re saying that it would be correct to say “The member was I” and “The walrus is he?” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/18 "2011-10-04T14:53:02Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > So it wouldn’t be correct to say “The member was me?” Or, to change context entirely, “The walrus is him.” > > You’re saying that it would be correct to say “The member was I” and “The walrus is he?” Traditionally, yes. Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/19 "2011-10-04T14:55:43Z")
Color me schooled. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547/20 "2011-10-04T14:59:56Z")
I am the member. The member is I. It sounds clunky, but it is correct. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-or-me-in-this-instance/598547.md?page=2)