I have a very well-educated (by schooling, that is) friend who makes a few grammatical errors. Now, I know we aren't all that prescriptive here, so I have been able to live with most of them. However, here's one I find unliveable: "Her and I were talking about the situation."
What do you think? Am I too stringent in my grammatical views? Or is this one example you can agree with me on?
I think I've used that construction too. It's a question of register - I know enough not to use it in formal writing, but I see no reason to try to avoid it in conversation.
Really? Even in talk at work, formal or informal? I am surprised.
Now, if you say it's okay with informal talk, but not for formal talk, then I suppose I could work with you on this. That is, you are talking whlie getting coffee with a colleague...fine, you can say "Her and I were in the marathon together." But, then coffee is over, and you are part of a Webinar with people from all over the country. Would you say, "Her and I are the PIs on this multi-site, NIH funded study."? If not, then I think it comes down to habit. If you get in the habit of saying "Her and I" informally, it is very likely you will blurt it out during a formal meeting. Maybe none of you think that would be a problem, but I think it could be a career-affecting statement because people will wonder about your educational preparedness to undertake scholarly work or national or international initiatives that need to be disseminated widely. I'm just saying...that's the reality.
