English is bent to our will in daily life and yet people act like God wrote the law on how to speak English and we’re all committing sins of biblical proportions.
No. You know what ? “Me and Mark” is perfectly okay because you understood exactly what the sentence meant. That’s the purpose of language.
It’s about respect for the reader or listener. Using correct language eases the burden of deciphering what you are trying to say by using consistent forms. Otherwise it take extra effort for them to unscramble your words and figure out your meaning.
And yes, of course someone can figure out that when you say “me and Mike” you almost certainly mean to say “Mike and I”. But you’re making it harder for them by not bothering to learn or use the correct form.
Me and Mike is not any harder to understand than Mike and I. It is harder for the speaker to always make sure they’re using the correct form, though. The extra effort for the speaker must also be considered. Sure, if you’re writing a book you should probably try to use the correct form, but in casual conversation it does not matter, and is more effort than it’s worth (at least in this case)
English is bent to our will in daily life and yet people act like God wrote the law on how to speak English and we’re all committing sins of biblical proportions.
No. You know what ? “Me and Mark” is perfectly okay because you understood exactly what the sentence meant. That’s the purpose of language.
Several counter-points:
I believe if you check closely, this rebuttal is ironclad.
Your rebuttal has no iron or steel covering any spots, thus it cannot be considered ironclad
It is also not a rebuttal. It criticizes the grammar and punctuation, but does not offer a counter argument.
It’s about respect for the reader or listener. Using correct language eases the burden of deciphering what you are trying to say by using consistent forms. Otherwise it take extra effort for them to unscramble your words and figure out your meaning.
And yes, of course someone can figure out that when you say “me and Mike” you almost certainly mean to say “Mike and I”. But you’re making it harder for them by not bothering to learn or use the correct form.
I think it depends on if you’re correcting people to better understand them, or correcting them to be correct. Or, to put it another way:
https://xkcd.com/1576/
Me and Mike is not any harder to understand than Mike and I. It is harder for the speaker to always make sure they’re using the correct form, though. The extra effort for the speaker must also be considered. Sure, if you’re writing a book you should probably try to use the correct form, but in casual conversation it does not matter, and is more effort than it’s worth (at least in this case)
Mark and I hate you