late night rants from yr sick neighborhood tina

[dyskodyke]

Dear People of the Internet

Comments

[tuckova]

I think it depends on how they're thinking it will be read:

This is a picture of my boyfriend and I. (screeeeetch)
vs.
My boyfriend and I are in this picture.

I think people tend to mentally put the latter in situations where the picture is telling a bit of a story (i.e. not "Here's my boyfriend and I" but "My boyfriend and I are on vacation/at a party/eating steaks in Argentina.")

I mean, yes, lots of people are sincerely being grammar fuckwits. But.

[dyskodyke]

True. I guess I never thought of that b/c, unless there is some kind of story going on, I never even think to read it as the latter. And so, if it's just a label, I feel like it should be "me," y'know? Also, I'm specifically thinking about situations where there's a series of pictures, and they're so often labeled like: "me," "me with my cat," "my boyfriend and I." UGH. Also, I'm a cranky old lady who always thinks the worst.

[seeinglife]

I think a lot of people got chided in grade school for using "and me" in inappropriate grammatical situations, and now have swung the other way b/c they don't get it, and think that "and I" is always appropriate.

[layers_of_eli]

Yes. I remember being corrected (or was it my friend?) in the 2nd grade, but no one explained WHY we should be saying, "and I," so we just thought that's what we were always supposed to say. And granted, in the 2nd grade, if Mrs. Bjorneboe HAD launched into a complicated grammar explanation, we would've been quite overwhelmed.

[dyskodyke]

But see, that's why I'm such a fan of the whole take-out-the-other-person's-name trick. Helpful and easy to remember.

Of course, I'm a fan of explanations, too. Without them, students just end up viewing grammar as a pointless set of rules, as opposed to a helpful communication tool. Which, granted, in the I/me situation communication isn't hindered -- I just have a pet peeve. And am super cranky.

[dyskodyke]

Yeah, I think that's the case, too. It just still drives me crazy.

devil's advocate

[czircon]

Although I do really really hate the overuse of "and I," in the case of photo captions, most of the ones that I see are not complete sentences anyway, so unfortunately the pronoun doesn't have anything to be required to agree with. To make matters worse, "my boyfriend and I" would even be correct if it followed a linking verb.

But personally, if I read a photo caption that isn't a complete sentence, I mentally fill in, "This is a picture of x." around it, so I want the grammar to match that construction.

P.S. Did my last letter get to you before you moved?

Re: devil's advocate

[dyskodyke]

See, that's my mental construction too, which is why I get so annoyed. Even tho I grant that you're right about the incomplete sentence thing. I guess I mentally go so far as to assume that it's just like standard knowledge that the default for labeling pictures is, well, to label, and thus use the "this is [x]" construction. Plus, you know I just like bitching about things.

Yr letter didn't get to me before I moved, but it was forwarded along, so I got it. For some reason I decided I shouldn't send you a reply while you were gone on vacation (I have no idea what my logic was, since having mail awaiting you is usually fun) but now that you're back, I'm on it!

Re: YES!

[dyskodyke]

NOT AS MUCH AS I LOVE YOU