Grammar question - I or me?

Question

I know it's correct to say "It is I" rather than "It is me". But let's say you were showing a photograph to someone - would it be correct to say "Here's John and me at the prom," or "Here's John and I at the prom?" My fellow editor and I are having a great debate over this. Thanks.

Answer 1

Wow. Everybody is wrong.
You have to choose which "case" of pronoun to use... the "nominative case" or the "objective case" of the pronoun.
The "nominative case" is used when the pronoun is
used whent he prounoun is the SUBJECT of the sentence, or when the pronoun is used as a PREDICATE NOMINATIVE (with a reflexive verb, or a verb of being).
"I am king of grammar"
"The king of grammar is I."
"Woe is I" (NOT "Woe is me.")

You use the OBJECTIVE CASE pronoun when the pronoun is being used as (a) a direct object or (b) the object of a preposition.

"John handed me the grammar book" (I.O.)
"Take me to your leader" (D.O.)
"The award for king of grammer was given to me." (O.P.)

As others have (correctly) mentioned, multiple nouns or pronouns don't change the case of the pronoun, and a good test is to "scratch out" the other noun to see if it "sounds right."

"John gave the ball to (Jim and I; Jim and me)" Scratch out the "Jim and" and it becomes easy: John gave the ball to me; therefore, the right answer is "John gave the ball to Jim and me."

Your specific question is VERY VERY difficult because (a) the sentence structure is awkward (it's something you'd usually say rather than write) and you've got implied subjects and nouns here.

Let's take the sentence fully:
If you were actually at the prom, you might say
John and I are here, at the prom, (easy)
or
Here I am at the prom (easy)

But in this case you're not really at the prom; you're showing someone a picture. So there are implied words that are missing
Here [is A PICTURE OF] John and (I, me) at the prom.
Now, here's the rub! The verb is a passive verb; normally, you'd use the predicate nominative case. But, the implied words are missing "a picture OF" -- thus, John and you become the objects of the preposition "of" --
You'd say "Here's a picture of US [objective case] at the prom."
Thus, you'd say "Here's a picture of John and me [objective case] at the prom."

So my vote would be that because there are the implied words of "a picture of" you'd use the objective case.
Otherwise, you'd have to say that because the verb is a linking verb, a verb of being ("is") than you'd have to use the nominative case.
Here [are] John and I at the prom.

Whew!

Answer 2

If it is just a picture of you, then the correct way is " Here AM I at the prom". By using "Here..." to introduce the sentence, you are creating difficulties if it is a picture of 2 people because by correlation, it should be "Here are John and I at the prom" which sounds a little clumsy, although technically correct.

You must use "I" and not "me" in this instance as you are the subject; it is correct to use "me" if you are the object of the verb eg Here's a picture of John and me at the prom (a picture = subject, John and me = object)

Answer 3

So, it would be okay to say "Here's John and me at the prom". The way that I always know, is to take out the other person/thing in the sentence (John, in this case). You wouldn't say "Here's I at the prom", but rather "Here's me at the prom". Then just insert the person/thing back into the sentence, and you're good to go! Good Luck and I hope this helps you out!

Answer 4

John and I went to the prom. Here is a picture of me at the prom. Here is a picture of John at the prom. Here is a picture of John and me at the prom. Here is a picture the police took of John after the prom. Here is a picture of me at the hospital.

Answer 5

The correct way to say it would be Here's John and me at the prom. It sounds wrong both ways but I know this one is the correct one.

Answer 6

I am not an editor, however, I believe it is "me". The litmus test being, you take "John" out and the sentence would say, "Here's me at the prom." Although, in truth, If John wasn't included you would probably simply say "here I am, at the prom." Then again, why would you have a picture of just yourself at the prom? Sounds kind of conceited if you ask me. So, I would suggest you leave John in the picture and refer to it as "John and me."

Answer 7

Correct English is Here's John and I at the prom?

Answer 8

You could say "John and myself"
However,"Me" is more accurate in that case than "I"

The test is to take out the "John and" part and see how grammatically correct the sentence remains.

"Here is John and me at the prom" becomes "Here is me at the prom"

"John and I went bowling" becomes "I went bowling"

Why doesn't your editor know this rule?

Answer 9

Here ARE John and I at the prom. (there are two of you)

The verb to be (is, are, am...) is a linking verb and therefore takes "I".

Or

Here is a picture OF John and ME at the prom.

Without the prepositional phrase, you need the "I"... the moment you use the preposition OF, you change it to ME.

Generally, though, when you're speaking informally, it just doesn't matter all that much. The communication of the message is the same and I guarantee the receiver of your message will understand either way you say it, unless he/she is completely obnoxious about correcting spoken English.

Answer 10

"Here's John, and I at the prom", is the only correct way of saying it