Why is "me" but not "I"?

Question

Hello everyone,

I know the difference between "me" and "I" was discussed before but I still can't understand two points and I will be happy if you can shed light to this.

1-I watched a film a few days ago and its orignal name was Prince and me. Yes, just this , there was nothing more.So, why it is not "I"?

2- The other things confuse my mind are expressions such as "silly me", or "fool me". I see this expressions in novels but I still can't understand why the object is "me " but not "I".

Thanks in advance.

Wanwo · Accepted Answer

'The Prince and Me' - Gramatically it's not correct but it's a movie title. Liberties can be taken with grammar for art's sake.

Likewise, 'silly me' is an expression that is not correct grammatically. It would be grammatically correct to say 'I am silly.' but 'silly me' is a lot more common.

You might have heard 'Fool me' from the expression 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.' But what this is really saying is 'If you fool me once, shame on you. If you fool me twice, shame on me.' It's grammatically correct to say 'You fooled me.' The 'me' here is taking the accusative and therefore cannot be 'I'.

Philip · Answer

DollHello everyone,

I know the difference between "me" and "I" was discussed before but I still can't understand two points and I will be happy if you can shed light to this.

1-I watched a film a few days ago and its orignal name was Prince and me. Yes, just this , there was nothing more.So, why it is not "I"? This can be debated until the cows come home, but I don't think it's worth the effort. Use whichever feels better for the situation you're in.

2- The other things confuse my mind are expressions such as "silly me", or "fool me". I see this expressions in novels but I still can't understand why the object is "me " but not "I". I think we can consider this idiomatic rather than logical.

Thanks in advance.

Nice chatting with you again, Doll.

Tanit · Answer

WanwoLikewise, 'silly me' is an expression that is not correct grammatically. It would be grammatically correct to say 'I am silly.' but 'silly me' is a lot more common.

Hi,

Hope this is not a silly question.
May I ask you if the same applies also to "poor me"? It seems to me that "poor me" cannot come from "I am poor"...

Doll · Answer

Thank you Tanit and Philip for your answers.

May I ask you if the same applies also to "poor me"? It seems to me that "poor me" cannot come from "I am poor"... Yes , I wonder this too because here you pity yourself.

By the way, it was nice to chat with you too Philip. I missed you!

Kooyeen · Answer

Hi,
some expressions are just idiomatic, so you have to use them as they are. Don't worry about grammar when you come across idioms. It's like "me neither": no one thinks why it's that way, they just use it because it's idiomatic.

As for "Prince and me", that's a title. If you post a picture of you in the forum, will the title be "me" or "I"? It's practically always "me", I guess (the complete title would be "This is me"). But if you post a picture of you and your dog, will the title be "My dog and me", "Me and my dog" or "My dog and I"? All of them are used in this case, but I believe "My dog and I" comes from a common mistake that native speakers do and now it's even become idiomatic among certain native speakers (complete title: "This is my dog and me", "This is me and my dog", "This is my dog and I"). Notice: not "I and my dog", that's not idiomatic.

MrPedantic · Answer

Doll1-I watched a film a few days ago and its orignal name was Prince and me. Yes, just this , there was nothing more.So, why it is not "I"?

Hello Doll,

For me, "The Prince and me" implies "About the Prince and me".

Similarly, you might caption a picture of you and your dog as "Prince and me", i.e. "(a picture of) Prince and me".

Of course, it would also be possible to call the film "The Prince and I". In which case, it would imply "The Prince and I (do X)".

(Whatever X may be.)

MrP

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Remember the show/movie "The King and I'?

Clive

Doll · Answer

Ah really thanks Clive, Mr Pedantic [L] , Koyeen boy and Wanwo.

Philip · Answer

Doll Yes , I wonder this too because here you pity yourself.

I find this interesting. In French, the verb for "complain" is se plaindre, the reflexive form of "pity".

Doll · Answer

Hmm maybe it changes from culture to culture if you say poor me in Turkish, that means you pity yourself. Isn't it same in English? What does it exactly mean if you say poor me?

Why is "me" but not "I"?

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