英语语法：35 Between Me and You?

Grammar Girl here.

Today guest-writer Bonnie Trenga is going to help us talk about “me” and “I” and how to order them in a sentence if you're using other pronouns or nouns to make a compound object or subject.

It all started with a call from a listener who had been participating in a lively argument on a New Jersey¹ newspaper site. She was quite adamant² in her view that the phrase “between me and you” is correct and that “between you and me” is not. She suggested that we look it up in "Strunk and White." So we did.

The Venerable Strunk and White

Bonnie goes on. She says:

I graduated from Cornell University, where The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White, is so popular that it’s almost reverently³ laid on your freshman⁴ dorm pillow like a chocolate mint. Nevertheless, I had somehow neither read it nor owned a copy of it. E. B. White, Strunk’s co-author, was a Cornell alum, too, and I felt he’d be disappointed in me if I didn't set this straight. So I went out and purchased a copy of the revered⁵ text, just so everyone, especially those in New Jersey, would know what’s what. I looked up pronouns in the index and was led to page 12, where it clearly indicates that “between you and me” is correct. Strunk and White’s example to illustrate⁶ this point is “Let’s talk it over between us, then, you and me” (1).

Good idea! Let’s talk it over between you and me. Other grammarians (2, 3) concur⁷ that you put yourself last when “I” or “me” is part of a compound subject or object. I suppose that it’s just the polite thing to do. "Me first" is a bad attitude in life, and so it is in grammar, too.

Compound Subjects

The pronouns that you can use as subjects are “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” “it,” “they,” and “we.” If you’re using one noun or pronoun by itself, then you have no problem; but if you want to use two at a time, that’s called a compound subject and you might have a question. Just remember your manners and put “I” last, because according to the American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style, “All pronouns except 'I' normally come before the noun in these compound subjects” (2). So it would be correct to say, “She and Bob climbed the steps” or “Bob and I climbed the steps.” You would never say, “I and Bob climbed the steps.”

If you are using two pronouns in a compound subject, there doesn’t seem to be a rule about the order, except that “I” needs to be last. You’d have to say, “She and I went shopping,” not “I and she went shopping.” It would sound a bit odd, but I suppose you could say, “They and she went shopping” or “She and they went shopping.”

Compound Objects

It works in the same way with pronouns you use as objects. These are “me,” “you,” “him,” “her,” “it,” “them,” and “us.” It’s “me” last, not first, in a compound, so it would be correct to say these sentences, taken from the Grammar Desk Reference: “He invited Jodie and me”; “Larry will be calling her and me tomorrow”; and “She gave him and me some advice” (3).

Now when we consider the “between me and you” or “between you and me” question, we know that “between you and me” has to be right. The pronouns “me” and “you” are parts of a compound object of the preposition “between,” and we’ve learned that “me” is an underachiever and has to go last.

So far I have read only page 12 of The Elements of Style, and between you and me, I should have read it 20 years ago. I’ll just blame it on the professors I had, since none of them made it required reading. I’d better read it thoroughly⁸, though, so I can accurately⁹ quote it when the next grammar debate ensues.

The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier

This podcast was written by Bonnie Trenga, author of The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, who blogs at sentencesleuth.blogspot.com, and I'm Mignon Fogarty, the author of the paperback¹⁰ book Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

That's all. Thanks for listening.

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

3 reverently   

adv.虔诚地

参考例句：

• He gazed reverently at the handiwork. 他满怀敬意地凝视着这件手工艺品。
• Pork gazed at it reverently and slowly delight spread over his face. 波克怀着愉快的心情看着这只表，脸上慢慢显出十分崇敬的神色。

4 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

5 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

6 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

7 concur   

v.同意，意见一致，互助，同时发生

参考例句：

• Wealth and happiness do not always concur.财富与幸福并非总是并存的。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done.我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。

8 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

9 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

10 paperback   

n.平装本，简装本

参考例句：

• A paperback edition is now available at bookshops.平装本现在在书店可以买到。
• Many books that are out of print are reissued in paperback form.许多绝版的书籍又以平装本形式重新出现。