Use me when it happens to you
Sometimes you are not the one doing the action. Somebody else is doing it, and you are the one it happens to.
In that case, use me.
“Leo helped me.”
Who did the helping? Leo. Who got helped? Me. The word sits in the telling part, so “me” is the one to use.
Where me shows up
| Sentence | Who does it | Who it happens to |
|---|---|---|
| Ava saw me. | Ava | me |
| My mom called me. | my mom | me |
| The dog followed me. | the dog | me |
| Leo sat next to me. | Leo | me |
Look at the last row. Nobody did anything to me there, but the word still comes after a small word like “to” or “with” or “for”. That is another place “me” belongs.
After words like to and with
These little words are followed by “me”, never by “I”.
- “Come with me.”
- “Give it to me.”
- “She made lunch for me.”
- “Sit next to me.”
You can hear it. “Come with I” is not something anybody says.
A mistake to watch for
People sometimes use “I” here because it sounds fancier.
“Leo helped I.” is wrong.
“Leo helped me.” is right.
Fancier is not the test. Where the word sits is the test.
Your turn
Fill in the blank with the right word.
- “Ava waved at ____.”
- “The cat followed ____ home.”
- “Please come with ____.”
Check your answers
- “Ava waved at me.”
- “The cat followed me home.”
- “Please come with me.”
Remember
- Use “me” in the telling part.
- Use it when the action happens to you.
- Words like to and with and for are always followed by “me”.