TheNextBigWriter Premium → I versus me - Grammar
Edit / disclaimer: I didn't originally read "just" as modifying the nouns after it. I read it initially as "merely"
[Merely] Father (has), paramedics (have), I (have)
Reading the just the way Marylin has, forces the nouns into the accusative. Just read this way implies "It was only X,Y,Z". There's an invisible subject pronoun affecting each noun
[Affected] father, [affected] paramedics, [affected] me
Interesting aspect introduced there.
Consider the "just" applies to a group of three.
Just (us)
Just (Father,paramedics,[me])
You could never get away with : Just (we)
It follows you cannot use : Just (Father,paramedics,I)
Just us or just me is idiomatic of object following on an adverb. There is no need to edit the amended version which is grammatically normal and clear in meaning. Just (us)= Just (Joe, Bill, and I).
Marilyn Johnson wrote:“Who’s been inside since the body was discovered?”
“Just Father Coppola, the paramedics, and I.”Break this answer down as follows:
“Just Father Coppola.”
“Just the paramedics.”
“Just I.”As you can see, the “Just I” doesn’t work. If you change it to me, it works. Since it’s dialogue, you’re free to use whichever version you so choose, but she’s not in the habit of using incorrect grammar in any of the previous sentences, so why would she here?
I suggest: “Aside from myself, just Father Coppola and the paramedics.”
“(Just) Father Coppola (has).”
“(Just) the paramedics (have).”
“(Just) I (have).”The word “just” is irrelevant.
A vast swath of the population is going to feel better saying “me” in spoken English, and that’s acceptable, because that’s become a “norm” (whether it’s “grammatically correct” or not). Language is a living, breathing thing, and common usage changes what’s considered “acceptable”—and in some cases, the rules themselves change to adapt to common usage. So, to that segment of the population, “I” is going to grate on the ear. But just because something grates on your ear doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It might just mean your ear’s a curmudgeon ...
Edit / disclaimer: I didn't originally read "just" as modifying the nouns after it. I read it initially as "merely"
[Merely] Father (has), paramedics (have), I (have)
Reading the just the way Marylin has, forces the nouns into the accusative. Just read this way implies "It was only X,Y,Z". There's an invisible subject pronoun affecting each noun
[Affected] father, [affected] paramedics, [affected] me
Yes, she forced a different meaning from what the author had written.
Temple Wang wrote:Marilyn Johnson wrote:“Who’s been inside since the body was discovered?”
“Just Father Coppola, the paramedics, and I.”Break this answer down as follows:
“Just Father Coppola.”
“Just the paramedics.”
“Just I.”As you can see, the “Just I” doesn’t work. If you change it to me, it works. Since it’s dialogue, you’re free to use whichever version you so choose, but she’s not in the habit of using incorrect grammar in any of the previous sentences, so why would she here?
I suggest: “Aside from myself, just Father Coppola and the paramedics.”
“(Just) Father Coppola (has).”
“(Just) the paramedics (have).”
“(Just) I (have).”The word “just” is irrelevant.
A vast swath of the population is going to feel better saying “me” in spoken English, and that’s acceptable, because that’s become a “norm” (whether it’s “grammatically correct” or not). Language is a living, breathing thing, and common usage changes what’s considered “acceptable”—and in some cases, the rules themselves change to adapt to common usage. So, to that segment of the population, “I” is going to grate on the ear. But just because something grates on your ear doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It might just mean your ear’s a curmudgeon ...
As a "reviewer" who would dictate your own meaning into the author's words, you would say that, wouldn't you? As to style of choice of words, even assuming equality of meaning and grammatical propriety between two choices, and that is not the case here, the author's preference, often from his first instinct as a native speaker of the language and immersion from birth in the culture of its origin, is primary over any reader's opinion.
TheNextBigWriter Premium → I versus me - Grammar
