Do you ever get halfway into a sentence that includes two people, and you can’t decide which pronoun to use? Should it be I or me? We or us? He or him?
Here’s The Snarky Editor’s handy-dandy, fits-all-situations, easy to remember rule:
Just drop the extra person from the sentence. Read it with only the pronoun, and it’ll soon be pretty clear whether you need to use I or me, he or him, she or her, and even we or us.
“But that would mean him and App might be suspicious.”
Would you say, “That would mean him might be suspicious”? Of course not. So it should be “But that would mean he and App might be suspicious.”
… a dozen copies of a blown-up photo of he and Shelby at a charity dinner….
Would you say, a blown-up photo of he at a charity dinner? Nope. So it’s a blown-up photo of him and Shelby (or, to sound smoother and more elegant, a blown-up photo of Shelby and him.)
Mom and I running the hotel was one thing…
Would you say, I running the hotel? Nope. So it’s Mom and me running the hotel…
… either me or my staff will be happy to help.
Would you say, Me will be happy to help? Nope. So it’s either me or my staff (or — to make the sentence flow more smoothly — either my staff or I will be happy to help.)
… a game that has made we politicians what we are.
Would you say, a game that has made we what we are? Nope. So it’s a game that has made us politicians what we are.
If Javi and her were seen together…
Would you say, If her were seen? Nope. So it’s If Javi and she were seen together…
Feel free to share your own favorite examples!
The Snarky Editor comes out of hiding occasionally to comment on the awkward, silly, and sometimes hilarious editing errors found in published books.
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Leigh Michaels is the award-winning author of more than 100 books, including historical and contemporary romance, non-fiction books about writing, and local history. More than 35 million copies of her books are in print in 27 languages and more than 120 countries. She is also a writing coach and book editor, though she promises to be snarky only in regard to published books.
To find out more, check out https://leighmichaels.com
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