A Grammar Question: Me Or I?

[Seven77]

I'm writing a business letter for someone -- the sentence in question is: She lives in the same town as [u][i]I[/i][/u]. Not [u][i]me[/i][/u]. Is this correct? I'm pretty sure it is.

[icelandic_iceskater]

you got it.

[Archaeology cat]

I'm fairly certain I was taught that it would be "I", because the full thought would be "She lives in the same town as I [u]do[/u]". You can't put "do" after "me", and therefore it would be incorrect.

[icelandic_iceskater]

nvm

Edited May 27, 2008 by icelandic_iceskater

[salterrae]

JM + JT

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1545199' date='May 27 2008, 05:09 PM']I'm fairly certain I was taught that it would be "I", because the full thought would be "She lives in the same town as I [u]do[/u]". You can't put "do" after "me", and therefore it would be incorrect.[/quote]
Ditto.

[Seven77]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1545199' date='May 27 2008, 04:09 PM']I'm fairly certain I was taught that it would be "I", because the full thought would be "She lives in the same town as I [u]do[/u]". You can't put "do" after "me", and therefore it would be incorrect.[/quote]

that would make sense... thanks! I should just write "as i do"

[Autumn Dusk]

I think you could say "She lives in the same town as myself" it sounds odd, tho...

but "She lives in the same town that I do" sounds kinda hick-like

Edited May 27, 2008 by Autumn Dusk

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='Seven77' post='1545197' date='May 27 2008, 04:05 PM']I'm writing a business letter for someone -- the sentence in question is: She lives in the same town as [u][i]I[/i][/u]. Not [u][i]me[/i][/u]. Is this correct? I'm pretty sure it is.[/quote]
I think the most formal use of the personal pronoun in this particular kind of "as" construction would be the subjective case ("I"), but it is perfectly normal in colloquial English to use the objective case ("me"). I suppose the question to ask is whether this second "as" is being used prepositionally or whether a verb is implied. In my opinion this particular sentence calls for the subjective/nominative personal pronoun but I would not be a stickler about it.

[prose]

How about "We live in the same town"?

(PS. It would be "I" - I is used for subject nouns, me is used for object nouns.)

Edited May 27, 2008 by prose

[franciscanheart]

yes, you are correct. the longer form of the same sentence (and the way to double check yourself without posting on phatmass ) is :

she lives in the same town as i do.

eta: it may sound funny (as someone mentioned above) but usually this is because our language is so mauled that what is proper is commonly taken to be "funny-" or "silly-" sounding.

[Laudate_Dominum]

Yeah, because the verb "to do" is implied the "as" construction calls for the subjective form of the personal pronoun, however, I still believe that in colloquial English the objective case is acceptable. On this particular grammatical point I would avoid excessive dogmatism.
English lives!!
"Grammar is for the sake of the language and not the language for the grammar." - Jesus Christ (not really)

[franciscanheart]

he has stated this is a business letter. considering the nature of the writing, i would not even give consideration to colloquial English. this is not to say, however, that your argument carries no weight. i disagree, especially in this case, but i suppose it is arguable.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='hugheyforlife' post='1545525' date='May 27 2008, 07:44 PM']he has stated this is a business letter. considering the nature of the writing, i would not even give consideration to colloquial English. this is not to say, however, that your argument carries no weight. i disagree, especially in this case, but i suppose it is arguable.[/quote]
I hear ya. I'm no grammarian but I think one can be excessively formal in a business letter. Perhaps it depends on where you live, but I can't remember the last time I heard someone use textbook grammar in regular speech with "as I" phrases of this kind unless they were trying to parody Shakespeare or something. I'm probably just a hick.. In spite of what appears to be acceptable English these days I suppose there are people who take textbook grammar quite seriously so perhaps it is best to play it safe. hehe. Good call hughey.

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' post='1545967' date='May 28 2008, 08:55 AM']I hear ya. I'm no grammarian but I think one can be excessively formal in a business letter. Perhaps it depends on where you live, but I can't remember the last time I heard someone use textbook grammar in regular speech with "as I" phrases of this kind unless they were trying to parody Shakespeare or something. I'm probably just a hick.. In spite of what appears to be acceptable English these days I suppose there are people who take textbook grammar quite seriously so perhaps it is best to play it safe. hehe. Good call hughey.[/quote]
I'm one of those who prefers to use textbook grammar (as my husband can verify) when speaking. And if I were the recipient of a business letter, I would definitely be a stickler for proper grammar.

[franciscanheart]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' post='1545967' date='May 28 2008, 02:55 AM']I hear ya. I'm no grammarian but I think one can be excessively formal in a business letter. Perhaps it depends on where you live, but I can't remember the last time I heard someone use textbook grammar in regular speech with "as I" phrases of this kind unless they were trying to parody Shakespeare or something. I'm probably just a hick.. In spite of what appears to be acceptable English these days I suppose there are people who take textbook grammar quite seriously so perhaps it is best to play it safe. hehe. Good call hughey.[/quote]
i bet it comes from my being one of those people who is quite conscious of grammar when speaking or writing, even informally. there are times that i cringe at using a prepositional phrase at the end of a sentence. << check that out. three in a row! lol. anyway, call me a nerd, i just think we should be conscious of how we're speaking.