I and my sister or my sister and I?

[zahari]

hi there! :
I'd like to ask if there's any difference between the two following structures:

I and my sister went to the cinema...
My sister and I went to the cinema...

I 've heard that the 2nd is more polite . Is that true?


Thanks a lot!!!!

[rewboss]

It's certainly regarded as more polite. It is the normal order of subjects -- a first person pronoun goes last in a list -- but I'm not sure if politeness or just common usage is the reason.

In any case, it's a useful way to remember it: polite people do not put themselves first.

[river]

Yes, sister gets listed before I. This is one of the few ways in which English is a "polite" language.