Speak good English
We are continuing our discussion on the use of the personal pronouns, whether they are in the subject or the object case.
In last week's lesson, we said the form of the personal pronoun we use after a preposition is the object case, as in:
Advertisement
Between you and me
Between him and you
Between them and us
Be reminded that were it not for the use of the preposition between in these phrases, we would write or say:
You and I
He and you
They and we
Egs:
You and I were punished by Mr Bossman.
He and you deserve a reward for your commitment to duty.
They and we have a lot in common.
Note that we cannot reverse the order in which the pronouns have been used in the examples above.
For instance, we cannot write or say:
I and you were punished by Mr Bossman.
You and he deserve a reward for your commitment to duty.
We and they have a lot in common.
The reason these sentences are incorrect is that in English the third person takes precedence over the second and the first persons, while the second person too takes precedence over the first.
The order of the singular forms of the personal pronouns is, therefore:
He/She, you and I
He/She and you
He/She and I
You and I
The order of the plural forms is:
They, you and we
They and you
They and we
Indeed, the third person, whether as a pronoun or a noun, must take precedence over the other two persons — first and second —, as in:
The girl and I were punished.
Mensah and you will do the work.
The children, you and I must leave together.
Not that the very famous Biblical expression:
I and my Father are one, is incorrect, grammatically speaking, just like that line in the Praye song: I and my shoddy are one.
The expressions should be:
My Father and I are one, and
My shoddy and I are one.