Me Or I?

[harryjones123]

I am hoping you can help me settle a dispute. Is the sentence, "Would you like to come to the cinema with Jenny and me?", correct or is it Jenny and I?
I am convinced it is the former but I have so far had the headmistress of my son's school and a professor of English from a notable university tell me that I am wrong...

[Ellipsis]

Simple rule: remove the "Jenny and" and it should still make sense.

Therefore, it's "me".

[dzug2]

I'm pretty convinced it's 'me' as it comes after 'with' and is thus indirect.

Leave out the 'Jenny and' - you wouldn't say 'with I', would you?

[Misky]

I was always taught - "you and me" is US, and "you and I" is WE. So it would be "... with Jenny and me"
I always remember Miss Paisley telling me this when I was five, after I had written that Charlie the lollipop man helped my friends and I across the road. She told me I was wrong and why, and I've never forgotten even though forty years have passed!

[Tilly2]

Would you like to come to the cinema with Jenny?
Would you like to come to the cinema with me?
Would you like to come to the cinema with I?

[ichkeria]

It's definitely "with me" - the test is to remove the "and" (i.e. you'd never say "come with I")

[B00]

I always understood it was the latter, so in agreement with the headmistress I'm afraid :-)

[rojash]

It's "Jenny and me" - just think about it. Would you say "would you like to come to the cinema with I?" Of course not.

A professor of English from a notable university doesn't understand the difference between the nominative and accusative cases of personal pronouns? Good grief!

[rojash]

"I always understood it was the latter"

A lot of people make that mistake, and I'm pretty sure it comes about from careless correction of the opposite mistake. For example, a kid says "Me and jenny are going to the cinema", and someone corrects them "Jenny and I", without explaining why.

So:
I am going to the cinema
Jenny and I are going to the cinema.

Come to the cinema with me
Come to the cinema with Jenny and me.

[netibiza]

would you like to come to the cinemas with me!


always use it as you ie would you like to come to the cinema with I just sounds so wrong

[Ellipsis]

Whereas "Jenny and I went to the cinema" is also correct, i.e. in that case it's "I" not "me". The same rule applies: remove "Jenny and" and it should make sense.

[Mosaic]

This is a fascinating example of a linguistic shibboleth in English society: teaching that using certain expressions defines you as well-bred, educated, etc etc.....so instead of having the confidence to think the language through, a knee-jerk reaction to 'me' whispers in the background that saying 'me' in this context is....well.....common.
I get metal images of doilies, cakestands, prickly clothes and bakelite telephones just thinking about it. It's a me thing.

[ichkeria]

"Jenny and I went to the cinema" is different, as in that case "I" forms the subject of a verb. In fact "I" should only ever be used when it is the subject of a verb. Even in "stand alone" mode it is incorrect:
"There's no one else here: just Jenny and I" is wrong
The same applies to "we", "he", "she" and "they" also - you'd never say:
"There's no one else here: just Jenny and we" for example.

I;m staggered that a professor of English would not know this to be honest :-)

[Tilly2]

Do you think harryjones might be having us on about the professor? I does seem incredible.

[Trishy]

... then there's the misuse of 'myself' as in Fred and myself went to the cinema. Drives me crackers!

[jno]

jno jnr's English tutor at uni dedicted a mark from one of his essays because he wrote responsible instead of responsable.

So nothing surprises me about professors.

[Tilly2]

jno, your typo made me laugh! ^

[jno]

[i] 'There's no one else here: just Jenny and I' is wrong [i]

No, that's correct. Most people would say 'Jenny and me', all the same. That's not so much the 'accusative me' as the 'emphatic me' - the way the French would say neither 'je' nor 'me' but 'moi'. It's because 'I' sounds a bit weak as the ending to a sentence and 'me' sounds stronger, which is a perfectly good reason for doing it. But purely in terms of grammar, 'I' is right.

[jno]

deduce three marks from me, Tilly!

[harryjones123]

Thank you wonderful people (well, most of you). I feel that the folk with 'me' as a preference back up their argument, however those who are opting for 'I' don't say why. Is there a reason why you think it is I? What is the purest source of reference for this? Is there an absolute authority we can turn to?

[harryjones123]

I promise I am not having you all on about the English Professor however I must protect her identity as she is very nice. She told me I was wrong so charmingly. I asked a friend who is a copywriter and she was so distressed she had to go and lie down. Jno - I sympathise with you about jno junior's teacher (I really do) but what do you mean, it's I?