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I am wondering if the following examples below are correct:

(1) Me and the world
(2) Me and the outdoors
(3) Me and the future

Are these example grammatically correct?

ColleenV
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Smaointe
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1 Answers1

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They can be correct, but aren't necessarily. In isolation, there's no way to tell. The crucial thing is whether they're being used as a subject, or as an object.

As an object, fine

I love it when it's just me and the outdoors.

This is an existential construction ("it" just refers to the general state of things or life). "Me and the outdoors" is as valid as "me" in this case.

As a subject, no

* Me and the outdoors go together like peanut butter and chocolate.

Here, just like "me" alone, "me and the outdoors" is wrong. It needs to be based on "I", and it sounds better (usually) to put "I" last, so the right way to say it is like this:

The outdoors and I go together like peanut butter and chocolate.

(A possible point of confusion: saying "I go together" doesn't usually make a lot of sense, but just saying "I go" is a lot more reasonable, and that's what's actually important. "Together" just modifies the verb.)

Nathan Tuggy
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  • While I agree with your answer, you might want to mention that saying "Me and the outdoors go together..." in informal situations will seem perfectly OK to a lot of native speakers. Although if we're worried about being correct, we might choose the more formal sounding "The outdoors and I..." – ColleenV Jan 20 '17 at 00:57
  • @ColleenV: I didn't mention that because it sets my teeth on edge. – Nathan Tuggy Jan 20 '17 at 01:05
  • Hmmm. Trying to perfect nature? :D Coordination blocks case agreement in both English and many other languages. One example of this is "Me and X are ...." - which is perfectly grammatical. – Araucaria - Not here any more. Jan 20 '17 at 13:30