GRAMMAR
A 6-Minute, 3rd Grade Grammar Refresher
Pronouns for smart people who would rather not sound dumb
This has been driving me crazy for a while. So, last night, I called two of my friends who teach elementary school. I asked, “When do kids learn to tell subject and object pronouns apart?” They both responded at the same time, “That’s 3rd grade grammar.”
I don’t get it. Smart, college-educated adults are getting this wrong everywhere — sometimes while being paid good money for their public speaking. It happens with CEOs, PhDs, and MDs, and I see it a lot with Medium writers, even some of the ones making a lot of money.
Money can’t buy good grammar.
If you’re an English teacher or someone with a writing degree, you can check out now. But the rest of you should stick around. We’re going to look at the most common pronoun mistake — Using I when you should use me.
You may be thinking, “Of course I already know that,” but do you? Judging from much of what I read and hear daily, many people don’t. It’s embarrassing, kind of like when someone who doesn’t know what a word means tries to use it anyway.
A couple of weeks ago, I heard a man who’s been regularly speaking to audiences of thousands for decades say, “I’m not black…
