May and I

1. May and I have a party invitation for Dec 30.

2. I and May have a party invitation for Dec 30.

3. May and me have a party invitation for Dec 30.

4. Me and May have a party invitation for Dec 30.

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Did I make any mistake on the above sentences?

Thank you.

You will hear #3 and #4, but they are generally considered sub-standard. I doubt if you will encounter #2. #1 is correct.

At school, I was taught a trick to help work out whether "I" or "me" is required when combined with another person. The trick is to remove the other person/people from the sentence and see if it still makes sense. So:

May and I have a party invitation.
Remove May from the situation and you are left with...
I have a party invitation.
That is grammatically correct therefore "May and I ..." was correct.

May and me have a party invitation.
Remove May from the situation and you are left with ...
Me have a party invitation.
That is grammatically incorrect and therefore "May and me ..." was incorrect.

emsr2d2 said:

May and me have a party invitation.
Remove May from the situation and you are left with ...
Me have a party invitation.
That is grammatically incorrect and therefore "May and me ..." was incorrect.

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I agree.

However, I think that learners need to know that many native speakers use the incorrect form in everyday and chatroom conversation; you will hear it used in reality shows, soaps, and from pop musicians and sports stars; and it appears in print in some magazines aimed at the lower socio-economic classes.

I have to say, I grit my teeth when I hear educated people say "Me and Henry... " as the subject but it doesn't annoy me nearly as much as people who use "myself" when "me" (or even "I") is the right word.

Barb_D said:

I have to say, I grit my teeth when I hear educated people say "Me and Henry... " as the subject but it doesn't annoy me nearly as much as people who use "myself" when "me" (or even "I") is the right word.

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Me and my wife so agree with you. She was saying to myself only last night, "Between you and I, 5jj, my flabber is gasted by these sort of ignorance."

5jj said:

Me and my wife so agree with you. She was saying to myself only last night, "Between you and I, 5jj, my flabber is gasted by these sort of ignorance."

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[Note to students: Do not take the above as an example of good English. 5jj is deliberately and flippantly using some of the commonest solecisms to make us smile.

See if you can find all the errors.]

Rover

It's a shame your wife doesn't have better grammar. She should know it's "These sorts of ignorances."