I go to the store. She goes to the store.

She and I go to the store.

Simple, right? Apparently not, because everywhere I go, and every time I turn on the TV, I hear people say things such as “Her and I go to the store” or “Her and I have been friends since college” or “Him and I get along great.“

Why is this grammar mistake so common? You would never say “Her went to the store,” right? So why would you say “Her and I went to the store?” And you would never say “Karen saw I,”right? Or does “Karen gave I the apple” sound correct to you?

Here’s how it works:

“I” and “she” are subject pronouns, i.e. they can be used as the subjects in a sentence.

• I go to the store.
• She goes to the store.

“Me” and “her” are object pronouns, i.e. they can be used as direct or indirect objects in a sentence.

• Direct object: Karen saw me.
• Indirect object: Karen gave me the apple.
• Direct object: Karen saw her.
• Indirect object: Karen gave her the apple.

The fight for good grammar in the written and spoken word rages on, but I’m determined to do my part to stop the madness. I hope you will help me!

-Maria

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2013 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.