Tricky Pronouns: ‘I’ or ‘ME’?

Are you 100% certain when to use “I” and when to use “me” in English? Which one is a subject pronoun and which one is an object pronoun? Watch this important lesson to learn the difference between these two commonly confused pronouns. This basic, serious mistake could cost you grades, jobs, and promotions. Make sure you know what’s correct every single time, to optimize your English communication. Next, take the quiz at www.engvid.com/tricky-pronoun..., then watch my lesson about subject and object pronouns: • ‘I’ or ‘me’? ‘She’ or ...
TRANSCRIPT
Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson you'll learn the difference between two confusing pronouns, and they are: "I" and "me". Okay? Now, unfortunately, mistakes are being made everywhere with these two simple pronouns Okay? Whether you're reading on the internet, or whether you're watching a show, or anything else, you'll see people making lots of mistakes here, so it's very important that you watch this lesson so that you know what's right and you do you what's right, especially if you're taking an exam, like the IELTS, or the TOEFL, or the TOEIC, or anything else; or if you're applying for a job, because this kind of mistake is a very basic mistake, and you don't want to make it ever. Okay. So, I'm going to show you exactly how to know when to use "I" and when to use "me". All right? So, let's have a look.
Now, as I said, we are focusing on "I" and "me" here; we... I do have another lesson in which I talk about all of the pronouns because sometimes all of them are mixed up, and I'll give you a link to that in the lesson description so you can watch that later if you want to get an overview of all of the pronouns, but let's start with this important one because very often we are talking about ourselves, and for that we need to say: "I" or "me". All right? Here we go.
So, first of all, both "I" and "me" are pronouns. Okay? Now, the pronoun basically takes the place of a noun. All right? That's a grammatical explanation; don't worry about it too much. The most important thing that you have to remember here is that "I" is used as the subject of a sentence, and it does the action in a sentence. All right? And "me" is an object; it receives the action of the sentence. All right? To understand exactly how that works, let's look at some examples.
So, here we said: "I called Steve." And "I" is the subject. Right? "I called", so I am doing the action. Whereas here: "Steve called me." Now Steve is doing the action, so "Steve" is the subject, and "me", here, is the object. Right? Yes, I heard you say that. Yes. It's correct. Okay? Steve called me, so I received the action, I received the call. Okay? Here I made the call, so I did the action; there I received it. Got it? It's always like that. Okay? "I" is always going to be the one that does the action; "me" is the one that receives the action.
All right, let's look at some more examples. "I talked to Mary." Okay? Again, "I" is the subject, and so we used it here. And here: "Mary talked to me." All right? So, here, we have "me", again, as the object which received the action. Who is the subject here? "Mary". All right? "Mary" was the subject here; "Steve" was the subject here, but here we're focusing on: What's the object? "me".
Now, another clue to know that you need to use "me" and not "I" is because we see here a preposition, right? "to". So, whenever you see a preposition, after that what needs to follow is a object pronoun; not the subject pronoun. So: "to me", "for me", "before me", "after me", "with me", okay? All that kind of thing. Or even here: "Steve called me.", "Steve texted me.", "Steve asked me.", "Steve answered me." Okay? But, again: "me", "me", "me". All right? When it's... And you'll see that it's usually at the end of the sentence, whereas the subject is at the beginning of the sentence. Okay. So, that's the basic stuff. This is when we have one subject or one object, so that's the basics.
Now, where do people make most of the mistakes? When... Somehow when we have multiple subjects or multiple objects. So even though they know this rule, most of the time most people, somehow when there are multiple subjects or objects, for some reason people get a little bit confused. So, that's okay. Let's clarify all your confusion right now.
So, let's look at this example: "Sarah and I are friends." Okay? So, here we had more than one subject; we had a compound subject. But we still have to say: "I" because it's a subject. Okay? "Sarah and I". All right? Not: "Sarah and me"; "Sarah and I". Because... And also, another way you can tell: Take out "Sarah", and then you say: "I am friends". Right? We don't say: "me am friends" or something like that. So, you have to use "I" here, but let's look at the other side of the equation. "The gift is from Sarah and me." […]

[@engvidRebecca]

Thanks for watching! To learn more about subject and object pronouns in English, watch my new video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqSxkpWAe9qNiJY And if you want a fast, easy system to improve your English every day, check out my course: 10.bexenglish.com - I wish you all the best!

[@gushastokobasuki7967]

Thank you very much Ms.... this video very use full for me. see u on the next topic.

[@LaDeAlPakino]

Hi there! Any time we have a choice between "me" and "I" involving plurals in the video I did notice that, if you can exchange them for "we" / "us" ( "I" / "me" )then you reckon instantly the difference. Could this be like a staple constant? I made up some terms and expressions there, excuse my boldness ^^ Salu2

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True i thinking watch at tacther woman school . I don't tell .. i ask meet Milo ventimiglia relationship date run time1 ? Myself grow up learning good ! Funny !

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You're the best teacher for me! Thank U for your lessons!

[@lokeshkc1546]

Perfect understand mam thank you so much Learning from Nepal 🇳🇵🇳🇵🇳🇵🇳🇵

[@subhashraut5349]

I have never seen the teacher like you how nicely maintaining the speed of delivering words and the technique of teaching the clear voice,all the things pouring to understand the weaker students , I also got to learn lot of .Thank you

[@sourabhchoudhary1210]

Mam, you are the best. I like your way of teaching. You are such an amazing Explainer. Thank you so much for your priceless time. Love from India.

[@samp7228]

Sourabh Choudhary me

[@shrutipednekar2512]

Thank you so much for your priceless efforts! The way you teach us is a very easy way to understand.

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Best teacher in the world.

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Tecaher I request you tell me on your whatupp ?

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i wanted now to be serious on this i really like it the way you took the time to explain ....i like over 💯 🇿🇦

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When you explain, it becomes so easy that it feels like there won't be any necessity of more explanations. Your ways of explaining is just simply great.

[@mhaohumtsoe6656]

Best english teacher of this planet, I will always love you ma'am....Love from india

[@akankshasharma9779]

Love from India ❤️ 😍 too

[@ottotjihumino7716]

Awwwh 😍 agreed!

[@Akbworld.]

Me too from India.

[@suneetaminhas303]

I too from India🇮🇳 🥰🥰

[@suneetaminhas303]

Love you❤ mam

[@AwesomeFennec]

i've seen so much videos about learning English and I still love Rebecca as a teacher))) i watch her about 3 or 4 years, she the best of the best)))

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Что-то сумление меня тяготит эбаут зи бэст оф зи бэст)))

[@aichaaaitssi3562]

Me tooo. Rebeeca is the best teacher ever.

[@velasusti]

Thank you for clarifying, this was very helpful! I am trying to improve my writing skills this summer for school by watching your videos, and I am definitely seeing a difference.

[@BarkatAli-yf8ps]

God bless my dear teacher the way you are teaching its phenomenal and i wrote this comment because of you respect and salute 🙋‍♂️ appreciate it...have no words for your thanks..

[@arnabsinha7341]

I have learnt the usage of "I" and "me". Thank you.

[@deniciaboyce5398]

ME TO

[@lakhi_kant]

Me too!

[@kimjackson9095]

Hands down, you are one of THE BEST instructors I've come across. Thank you.

[@danielbaz1993]

I'm an ESL teacher and your videos help me so much! Your explanations and how you gradually increase the difficulty are fantastic and easy to understand!

[@-flabber6663]

Hi Rebecca. We highly appreciate your teaching. It's very clear and explains the foundation of the English language so important for students. The rest of the language can be learned from reading, writing, listening.

[@mikkamayor8355]

Thank you so much for this ms rebeca. It's lovely to see you on each of your video lessons. Your videos makes me feel like im in a real classroom set up that's very engaging sitting in front of a nice, sweet and patient english teacher. I can see your sincerity and hardwork in making these videos just to help people like me who wants to improve in english. Your million follwers and I very much appreciate you and your lessons. Thank you!❤️

[@nigelzellsrobles7678]

I love the way you teach, so humble. I've learned a lot of things about English.

[@israelmac4176]

Thanks for this very useful lesson. You are a great teacher.

[@betaniamachado1359]

You helped me a lot! I’ve been trying to learn about it for a while and I’ve been watching so many Portuguese videos (my first language) bit I just learned with you! Thanks so much 😊

[@nafeesaahmadzai9405]

You are such a good and kind teacher! Thank you so much Rebecca.🙏😍

[@moulmour]

Nice to see you teacher! thanks a lot for the lesson!

[@pranisharai7672]

Ma'am, i really want to thank you for all the effort you put to make us understand. I watch engvid videos every day. It has helped me a lot, improved my vocab, and I don't do mistakes which i used to do before. Now, I have become much stronger in my grammar but there is a lot more to learn. And I m so thankful of this Engvid and you are the best teacher 👌. The best channel to learn and improve English grammar from scratch.

[@jaicordes7285]

Thank you, Mrs.Rebecca! Your teaching has been helping me to learn an English. Tips for friends! “Me” goes after verb and “I”always goes before verb.

[@jimmyayub]

Thanks so much for this :-) If my English teacher back in high school was as good as you, my grades would not have been shameful

[@Rajwinder_123]

Agree

[@Hever73]

You're such a great teacher for us!

[@shiningstar8757]

Rebecca, you're such an amazing teacher a big help for us. You made learning english-language encouraging, easier and exciting..

[@leonardogarrido]

I enjoy these classes! you are very useful for those learning or improving their English skills.

[@redroseanna5830]

I love the way how you teach. You make me, clear all the time, about everything that you have explained. So many thanks from me to you for that reason.

[@engvidRebecca]

Thanks so much for your feedback, Anna. So glad to know the videos have helped you. I wish you all the best, my friend.

[@kellyng2266]

I am strongly agree with you!

[@wogayehutesfaye6611]

You answered my long last question. May God bless you with his everlasting blessings!

[@murtadah6327]

Ms. Rebecca is the ultimate teacher on KZbin for learning English lessons.

[@elizabethosorio8266]

How clear you are, if we want to lean grammar, you are the best teacher ever

[@peterigwilopi]

Thanks Rebecca for posting these contents! They're truly helpful for me, and clear up some confusions

[@rayangel1100]

Rebeca, your explanation was as clear as cryistal. I love your videos. Kisses from Barcelona

[@superfencing7818]

Esther Lorente kisses from London 😍

[@abadarg1884]

💋 From Boston M.A.

[@rajenranv7936]

Handling the tricky pronouns I & ME made easy by the Teacher with specific reference to Subject & Object. Understood the minutes and noted meticulously.Thanking profusely, Ma'am. Great (Ravi)

[@LEGIONARIO1970]

I'm an English teacher myself in Mexico and this is going to help me a lot, by the way I've listened and read even some English native-speakers making this mistake, no problem, many of us make mistakes in our native languages too. The clue of the prepositions and the verb BE is an excellent one. You're a very good teacher! thanks a lot.

[@Banguitaa]

Rebecca thank you so much for another great class 🥰🥰❤️

[@HrithikaAdhrit]

Mam! It's great to know from you many things. I'm looking forward to see more.

[@Anilche]

Excellent way to teach confusing parts in a simple and easy manner. Thank you. I really enjoyed it and your style of teaching made me understand it clearly :)

[@josephdeleon6261]

Thanks rebecca!you are a good teacher and a very simple to teach us.

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Thank You so much 😍😍 I’m from Baglung,Nepal.Your are doing a great job.Keep it up.💕💕💕💕

[@naungshen2689]

I am looking for this lesson long time ago. I just seen it today; I thank you so much.

[@alexanderv7702]

I just SAW it today;

[@edwinque3784]

An in-depth well taught by a bona fide and excellent English teacher. She has a kind heart of reaching out to the goodness of our wisdom.

[@JoPlaysSims]

Thank-you! I wish my teachers had taught it this way. You are so clear and concise.

[@dehleezeishq1083]

You are an exceptional teacher 💯

[@ShubhraShandilya29]

It has always been perplexing to choose 'It's me' or 'It's I' as the right one. Infact 'It's I' is grammatically correct but it has never been in trend whereas 'It's me' is not grammatically correct but has always been in trend. So, people prefer using it.

[@1brianescobar]

Was looking for some reference to get an idea of how to present this. Just what I was looking for. Thank you!

[@sarajasso7962]

Thanks teacher , Rebeca . I’m learn a lot , with you. Because your class is very clear .

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Simple and easy way of explanation thank you GOD BLESS YOU

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Hi mam, we want to 10 difficult words to learn daily ,with proper meanings and it was very useful to us

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Your way of teaching is amazing.I am sure your teachings have helped all the English learner's. Thanks a lot

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I give you full stars about your politeness & delivered a great knowledge among us.

[@sameermiir]

Hy Rebaca I'm Sameer Miir from Indian occupied kashmir I really enjoy your All the lessons u r simply extraordinary Hats off to you,At last but not least Please upload lectures on daily basis that I'm eagerly waiting fr !

[@bw8282]

Thanks for this video. At times, I do get confused using "I" in the right tense. Keep the videos coming

[@SathieshRao]

Thank you so much for the clear explanation.

[@taphadieng2710]

It's really important because many people speak English but they didn't pay attention about it so thanks a lot

[@houdadarraz8355]

To be honest, I really appreciate your way of teaching English, and your so interesting advice, you are one of the best teachers 👍👍

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She is well best teacher

[@cabdiraxmanismaciil6474]

And honest way of teaching

[@isakmomin2360]

Ma'am, would it be possible to have a lesson on present perfect continuous tense?

[@perpetuaronio6061]

Thank you,your agood teacher,I learn alot..

[@gouravchauhan4872]

Brilliant explanation ,Thanks.

[@kerala2023]

Your method of teaching is very good ...very easy to understand it.thank you so much.....

[@modernland8181]

Rebecca, You are the best

[@asuandmulugeta1450]

Thank you for watching i must be observing next time.

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My nameguloren cevik Ross yunuversty

[@nimrahkhan1927]

Thankyou so much for explaining this and clearing my doubts.

[@Akbworld.]

Had we an english teacher like you ma'am we would have learned English precisely and effectively. Lot of thanks from India for your valuable teachings.

[@bendolmaryann6753]

I really appreciate this lesson because i have learned , I and me and how to use it.

[@marjorieempleo6832]

Thank you mam Rebecca,,now I know how to use this two (I and Me) no mistakes at all thank you again I am always follow your lessons in you tube..

[@Akbworld.]

Where are you from friend?

[@MrAvantgarde11]

Beautiful way to learn. Thanks.

[@prajnangaming9671]

You are the best teacher I have ever seen . My confusion went away instantly .

[@elenasmartina478]

Hello, Rebecca! Could you explain when we use “to” in sentences like: “somebody talks to me” and “somebody asks me”?

[@kensurvivant2158]

Everyone likes you

[@sirmeowthelibrarycat]

Elena Smartina 👨🏻‍🏫 Hello, Elena. Mr Teacher here in England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. I have an answer to your question. Both sentences follow the same structure - subject, verb, object. The difference is that there is a missing preposition in the second sentence. It should be like this - ‘somebody asks OF me’ but it is no longer in common use. You have to use ‘TO’ in the first sentence or it would not make sense.

[@elenasmartina478]

Sir Meow The Library Cat, Thank you ☺️

[@piedadlorenserrano196]

My dear teacher Rebeca I love your videos :)

[@vanitadeshmukh9985]

I m confuse about me and I.... And video in front me.... REBECA ma'am you r truly master... Hats off..... Your explanation method is classic

[@claramartin5702]

I love to see your videos, you are so kind, great teacher and you explain in some way that it is easy to remember. Thank you so much.

[@jemps4437]

It always makes me smile when I hear someone say "....between you and I" instead of "...between you and me..."

[@gboldero1]

Between you and me is grammatically correct.

[@sevilqarabeyova3028]

Thank you teacher❤ I'm from Azerbaijan 🔗💕

[@jdrbalametov6049]

l'm from Azerbaijan too

[@sarocooks]

Awesome...you are the best English teacher...thank you v.much

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Rebecca, you are the best English teacher I've known.

[@hungvu2774]

Please make sense what the differences between "overrated" and "underrated". I keep you in my prayers, ma'am.

[@anakhalal5803]

Overrated means it is perceived higher (usually in terms of quality) by people than it actually is. Underrated is the exact opposite of that.

[@qobulimron7692]

How about "Me before you"? Could you explain to me.. The titles of a movie..😆

[@marc-andrelachapelle5707]

Maybe object prep object Therefore me

[@armelkouassi7176]

Wonderful explanation, thanks madam!!!

[@longjamranjit1682]

Ma'am your teaching style is pleased to other subscribers and me. Precise and simplified teaching technique.Thanks ma'am.

[@julijakeit]

Love these videos, it's always great to know the structure of the language.

[@user-bw5ju4mh6h]

julijakeit Yes , and me I love these videos also I need to some one from other country for chatting him and improve my English

[@evgeniiamurmansk3332]

Thank you very much! From Murmansk, Russia

[@vaidmca]

You made it so easy to understand, my daughter understood it so well now. I really thank you for explaining it so easily.

[@masoudshokouhi3906]

You are patient teacher.tnx Rebecca

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I love it, thanks a lot, you're my favorite teacher and you're special and gorgeous for me ,,😍😘.

[@ManfrediniPS]

Kkk, gado demais.

[@trixietru]

Surely the verb, “to be”, takes pronouns in the nominative case, both before and after it.

[@rohitmitruka]

Very helpful. Thank you very much

[@thisha9917]

Thanks Rebbeca Its amazing the way that you explained.

[@camilag4243]

Thank you so much, it was very clear. However, could you please share some "exceptions" with us ? for example: Imagine a teacher and her/his students in the middle of a class and suddenly the tecaher asks "Who has the photocopy?" and one student says "me". Why is it "me" instead of "I"? "I" is the one who HAS the paper so therefore that student is the subject of the sentence. Am I right?? Thanks a lot and greetings!. Love Engvid.

[@nasirkhan-uq5hv]

East or West “Rebecca” is always shining

[@anyarellano9491]

Rebeca you're an excellent teacher. Thank you!!!!!😊

[@missiontoaccomplish]

This is the rule I learned from my English grammar book long time ago. But after spending 10 years in Australia, I was absolutely confused and later came to a point that both are correct. But now this video really helped me to unlearn what I have been wrongly practicing and relearn into proper useage. Thanks for this video.

[@fazalsubhan2927]

I highly appreciate your way of teaching,mam

[@paulcharles5128]

It’s actually “you and I in this old photo.”😑

[@sirmeowthelibrarycat]

Paul Charles 👨🏻‍🏫 Hell, Paul. Mr Teacher here. You are correct. Instead of one sentence , give each person a sentence. Then you have ‘You are in this old photo.’ I am in this old photo’. Merge them and you have ‘You and I are in this old photo’.

[@dianacondori1904]

Actually I don't think so... there's "it is" before "you and me", making "it is" the subject of the sentence and "you and me" the object.

[@gboldero1]

@@dianacondori1904 Actually, It's you and I is grammatically correct as it is takes a subject compliment but what she's trying to say is that most native speakers say it's you and me in casual conversation

[@fixpontt]

"Premieres in 7 years 18 December 2025 at 22:00" wow, setting up timers is even more trickier than pronouns it seems....

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😂😂😂😂

[@klpiyarathna8073]

Very good teacher. Thank you.

[@user-mx4me5xt3o]

This is the best explanation. Thanks.

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I am truly enjoying her sessions. Excellent! Thank you !

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Thanks for teaching us

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You always focus on your topic without wasting time.This teaching style is really sensational .Thank you so much..

[@stellajayathilake5515]

Excellent teaching Rebecca🙏

[@transasiatrading7219]

Thank you very Much for your excellent classes .You are doing a great service to the beginners with your wonderful presentation

[@lakshan562]

Thank you ma'am. I like the way you explain. It is so easy to understand grammar the way you put it.

[@cftuba5313]

You're the best online English teacher , Love from Earth.

[@hesousa8488]

Your classes are wonderful. Thank very much. Greetings from Brazil