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Dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot, like me?

Sandra Hogan
 

Did the songwriter who penned the line in this title get it right or wrong? Should the girlfriend be hot like me or hot like I?

Grammatically speaking, it should be hot like I, but songwriters claim exemption from grammar rules.

The way I check those I/me questions, when I’m not sure, is to see if I can finish the sentence. Don’tcha wish your girlfriend was hot like I am hot works but Don’tcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me am hot does not.

Undoubtedly I am hotter, whichever way you say it.

The grammatical principle behind the I/me decision is to work out whether the word is the subject or object. I is the subject of a sentence and me is the object. The subject performs the action and the object has the action performed upon them.

I don’t say, Me showed that girlfriend who was hot, because I was the one who showed her.

Not, That girlfriend told I to hit the road post haste, because it was me she told. I was the object of her unwanted advice.

Sometimes it gets confusing when you have a compound subject or a compound object.

Her boyfriend and me look good sounds fine to me but grammatically it just doesn’t work. The way to check it is to delete the boyfriend. Me look good is wrong, although it is true that I look good. Very good.

That girlfriend should leave him and I alone is surely fair enough butthe grammar book won’t let me say it. I can check it by leaving him out of the question altogether: The girlfriend should leave me alone works but The girlfriend should leave I alone doesn’t.

 

About the Author

Sandra HoganSandra Hogan is a writer and editor, with a strong background in journalism and government communications. She is the director of WriteBusiness, which offers training, coaching and mentoring to people in business and government who want to improve their writing skills.



 

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