This’ll make my dad laugh. Grammar Girl has finally addressed my one grammatical issue. The best thing, though, is that once my dad started reminding me about it (he’d send me an email after reading a post of mine, and the subject line of his email would be: “You/Me” – and I’d know: DAMMIT. Where is it??) – I actually became conscious of the problem, and have nearly licked the habit. But still – it cracked me up. Here is just one example of this fond loving father/daughter phenomenon. I wouldn’t even open the email from him mostly, because the subject line said it all – I’d just go back to the post and scour it for the problem. You know some rules you just KNOW, because you learned them so well during the Mesozoic era? For example: I never get the “your” “you’re” thing wrong. Or “they’re” “their” “there”. I haven’t made a “they’re” “their” or “there” error since I was 8 years old. Or the whole “it’s” “its” debacle. I never make that mistake. And if I do? It’s a typo. You’ll just have to trust me on that. These rules I KNOW. And most grammar rules are like that for me (for I? – hahahaha) … but the you/me thing gets me. However, over the last year, I have decided to learn the rule – and I think I’ve got it licked. It still cracks me up, though. All it took was a little focus on the problem.
I love, too, how Grammar Girl writes:
The proper sentence is I love you, not Me love you.
Oh, really? You want to tell that to him?
ok, i did not see that coming and it really got me.
that exchange w/ your dad is just fabulous!
Bren – ha!!
We need to talk soon – let’s try to this weekend, maybe?
I keep seeing commercials and posters for Jeff’s new series – Jeff is EVERYWHERE!!
Miss you.
YES! The you/me/I thing drives me INSANE, sheila, INSANE! I can’t tell you how INSANE it drives *I*. Hahahahaha. Just kidding (not about the insanity, though). The newscasters and radio DJs and radio talkshow hosts are the worst perpetuators of this horrid misuse of the language. ACKKKKKK!
There. Me all better. Thanks.
I love Grammar Girl. And after this post, I think I love you.
COOOOOKKKKKKIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!
…that’s good enough for me….
God, Sheila, you sure know how to kick a monster when he’s down. . . First nutritionists tell him “a cookie is a sometimes treat,” then you go telling him his grammar is terrible. . . what’s next, is Mr. Blackwell gonna target him?
(Kidding, you made me laugh really hard!)
Ken – hahahahaha
That’s good enough for me, too.
LOVE IT!! The funny thing about hanging around 5 year olds all day is I start talking like them. AND IT MAKES SENSE! Example: “Last yesterday, we went to the beach”
Translation: We went to the beach in the past. It wasn’t in the extremely recent past. It was not yesterday. A good guess would be about a month ago. Last yesterday.
Beth – hahahaha!! I love it – I love “last yesterday”.
I love how little kids work out grammatical issues. Like Cashel’s phase when he always said to us, “Tell you” after we would ask him a question. We’d say, “What’d you do today, Cash?” and he’d say “Tell you.” That, to Cashel, meant: “Tell ME” or “YOU tell me.” not in a hostile way – he just would get unsure, and want to answer it right.
We all so loved the “tell you” phase – it was so so cute. And it makes a lot of sense – even if it’s not grammatically correct!
Like “last yesterday”!!
Well, it depends on what Cashel means. What did he do? He told you. Therefore, when you ask him what he did, he says “Tell you.” He just doesn’t elaborate exactly what it was he told you. =D
We know what Cashel meant. It wasn’t about him choosing what to tell us – or him being sneaky, or whatever – it was his unsureness of how to make conversation, in general, and what a QUESTION meant. He thought there was a RIGHT answer to every question – and there isn’t, obviously. If you ask someone, “Did you like that book?” there isn’t a right answer, so Cash’s “tell you” came out of a slight hesitation in asserting his own opinion.
“Tell you.”
It was a reversal of the pronouns – and one of our favorite family phrases now. We have him on tape saying it.
It would go like this:
Auntie Sheila: “So, Cash – do you like Bug’s Life better than Toy Story?”
Long pause.
Cashel: “Tell you.”
Beth – by the way, I still need to track down those photos of the New Year’s Eve party – I thought I knew which album they were in, but I was wrong apparently!!
I haven’t been staying in my own apartment for the last 3 days – but I’ll be back there tonight, and see if I can’t find those photos.
I think there are 5 of them in a row – with us dancing – and they are hysterical.
“Tell you” sounds like my friend’s grandniece’s expression “Carry you,” when she meant, “Will you carry me?”
Amazing how a couple of words can melt one’s heart.
Totally melting of the heart! Beseeching of someone – ‘Carry you!’ So cute!
Sometimes – Cashel would WHISPER the phrase. And it would be in response to the most subjective question – like:
“How are you today, Cash?”
There is no right answer to such a question. But Cashel only heard the question mark and so …
Long pause. Then he would whisper, “Tell you.”
I loved the whispering, even though it cracked my heart.
It killed us!!! So glad we have it on tape – it’s one of those moments where you know: He is going to grow out of this phase so quick, and it’s good to grow up – but we will miss “Tell you”!!!
Actually, I think Cashel is using Yoda syntax. “Tell, you.”
Like I said. We know what he meant.
Oh Sheila! That is so sweet about “Tell you”. When you think of it, we give so much power to those little beings, and sometimes it is frightening to them, just ANSWERING. When both my kids were little and they were tired they would cry, “I want to hold you!” which of course meant they wanted me to hold THEM.
beth – Yes, that’s it! “What is the right answer?? how do I respond to this GIANT BEING who is asking me a question?”
I love the “hold you” thing, too – I’ve heard that one before. It’s adorable!!
I know you know what he meant, because you did such a good job explaining it that I know too. Hence my big grin. (=D) I’m just observing that, in the strictist sense, his reply is not ungrammatical. When my brother and sister were small, they had similar expressions that would get to us.