Is it I or me?

Written by Will Teach

We have two kinds of personal pronouns:

Subject Pronoun (often referred to as the personal pronoun)

Object Pronoun  - for object (transitive verbs)

                        - for complement (intransitive and copular verbs).

Examples: 

Transitive Verb

   S        TV   O                 S     TV   O
David likes Ana.       =     He likes her.  

(S= subject, TV= transitive verb, O= object)     

Intransitive Verb

    S       IV           C                               S     IV        C
David talks to Ana all the time.       =     He talks to her all the time.  

(S= subject, IV= intransitive verb, C= complement)     

1 - Now, which of the following answers do you think is correct?

- Who is at the door?

   A) It is me.

   B) It is I.

If you chose ‘A)’ you are right. In this sentence the subject is the Expletive Pronoun ‘It’. ‘Me’ is the complement of the copular verb ‘to be’. Thus correct.

Although option ‘B)’ may be regarded by some people as formal, it is actually considered overcorrection. So please, avoid the second option. 

1a - Another way to answer this question would be:

- Who is at the door?

   Me. (omission of subject + verb)

2 - Now for the second example:

- I like chocolate.

  A) I too.

  B) Me too.

The correct option is ‘B)’ Me too.  This is an informal and shorter way to answer the question. 

The use of the subject pronoun ‘I’ would only be possible if followed by a verb or an auxiliary verb.

- I like chocolate.

  I like it too  / I do too.

3 - How about when using comparisons?

   A) She is older than me.

   B) She is older than I (am).

In this case, both are correct. ‘A)’ is informal. While ‘B)’ is formal and uses the structure with two subjects and verbs. So in this case, choose the version according to the degree of formality.

Important factors to consider before my final thoughts:

   A) The object pronoun can be used without a verb.        

        ‘Me too’ /  ‘Me neither’

   B) The Subject pronoun can’t be left alone, a verb is required.  

        ‘I like it too’ / ‘I don’t either’         

   C) After prepositions, a object pronoun should be used.     

        ‘Between you and me, I think…’

        ‘To me, it seems…’

Final thoughts:
1 – Language changes through out the time. Something that is considered correct today may die out in the future. These changes may occur differently in each region.

2 – We tend to overcorrect ourselves and fail to analyze the grammatical aspect.

3 – Bear in mind that there are formal and informal languages. Informal is NOT wrong, it is just a different style.