MrBoJangles wrote:In the song "When doves cry" by Prince, this is the first line:
"Dig if you will a picture, of you and I engaged in a kiss"
The first half of the statement would lead me to believe that it should be "you and me", but the second half should be "you and I". I'm stumped. Someone please help...
Because after You and I, they used verb: engaged........You and me usually use in the bottom of the sentence...
This is a song lyric, a poem , in effect, and you must allow for the inclination of the poet to use the language in a non-standard fashion. When he does, it's purely a matter of opinion whether he has succeeded.
In my opinion, Prince has simply made a common grammatical mistake. In childhood, we English speakers very often use "me" where "I" is correct. Some find the distinction confusing and never quite get it, even after years of being corrected by Mom or Teacher. I think this is what has happened in Prince's lyric. He imagines "I" is correct and not the more childish-sounding "me". The comma is incorrect also. To be absolutely correct, commas belong after "dig" and after "will', to set off the dependent clause.
Who's there? Me. informal
Who's there? I am. formal
Who is going out? you and me. informal
Who is going out? You and I. formal.
Who dug this ditch? I myself. formal with emphasis on I did it.
Who dug this ditch. I did it. formal
Who dug this ditch? me. informal
me isn't maybe grammatically correct but seems as though it is used a lot.
but here bellow
look at me.
give me.
get out of me.
do you like me?
Incorrect usage may also be informal at the same time, but it still is incorrect.
In my opinion, it is better to keep to the standards of the language. This is certainly better for non-native speakers, who will only need to learn one way of speaking.
