My brother and me / Me and my brother / I and my brother

[xiaoen]

1. My brother and I are helping Mom and Dad.:tick:
2. My brother and me are helping Mom and Dad.:-|
3. Me and my brother are helping Mom and Dad.:-|
4. I and my brother are helping Mom and Dad.:-|

Hi,
I know that #1 is correct but what about #2, #3, and #4?

 

[teechar]

#2 and #3 are ungrammatical. #4 is grammatical but unnatural. Use #1.

 

[GoesStation]

It's a strong convention in English to put I and me last in phrases with more than one pronoun or a proper noun and pronoun(s), so much so that it looks wrong if you don't.

 

[Rover_KE]

Whilst #3 is ungrammatical, native speakers commonly use it all the time in informal conversation.

 

[GoesStation]

Whilst #3 is ungrammatical, native speakers commonly use it all the time in informal conversation.

The same goes for number 2. In fact, I'm pretty sure 2 and 3 are far more common in conversational AmE than the "correct" version.

 

[Barb_D]

And don't forget the common but grating "Her and I went to the store."

 

[bubbha]

#3 is a form commonly used by children, until they are corrected by parents and teachers to use #1. Unfortunately, this results in hypercorrection, in which adults all too commonly use "X and I" in the objective case. (e.g., "They sent the package to my brother and I")

 

[probus]

As a 70-year-old native speaker, I must say that I have used "me and my brother" and "my brother and me" as subjects all my life. I shall continue to do so.

 

[emsr2d2]

And don't forget the common but grating "Her and I went to the store."

And even "Me and her went ...". :roll:

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Here in the US, it's common to hear: "My brother and myself . . . ."

Ouch!

 

[emsr2d2]

If it weren't for the fact that the reflexive pronoun is necessary in certain contexts, I'd abolish it from the language due its growing misuse.

 

[probus]

1. My brother and I are helping Mom and Dad.:tick:
2. My brother and me are helping Mom and Dad.:-|
3. Me and my brother are helping Mom and Dad.:-|
4. I and my brother are helping Mom and Dad.:-|

Hi,
I know that #1 is correct but what about #2, #3, and #4?

Certainly "I and my brother" is far less common than "My brother and I". But that does not make it unnatural. I have used it and felt perfectly comfortable doing so.

 

[GoesStation]

In John Steinbeck's Cannery Row, the character Mack always introduces his apologetic remarks to Doc with I and the boys.... Steinbeck uses the phrase to mark Mack as not very well educated but well-meaning.