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Her and I

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October 11, 2011, 19:56
Kalleh
Her and I
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?
October 11, 2011, 20:24
goofy
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.
October 11, 2011, 20:59
BobHale
In m,y neck of the woods we say

"Me and her was talking."

What can I say? It's how I was brung up.


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
October 12, 2011, 01:23
arnie
It's not a construction I'd use in any register, but I've heard it, and similar, quite commonly.


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
October 12, 2011, 07:17
zmježd
I'm sort of with Bob on this one. "her and I were" sounds wrong in any register, but "me and her were" is OK in informal conversation.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
October 12, 2011, 10:25
Kalleh
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.

I am ready to be skewered! Eek
October 12, 2011, 12:49
<Proofreader>
It is to laugh. Everyone knows the proper construction is "She and me."