I and Me, He and Him

Here's our second wedding grammar lesson! Please remember that I welcome any comments or suggestions.

It's easy to get confused about using "I" and "me" when you're describing an event that involves another person. It helps to separate the actors. Let me explain by using an example. Which sentence is correct?

The Mister and I will not smash cake in each other’s faces.
OR
The Mister and me will not smash cake in each other’s faces.

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Try this. Separate each word in the subject into a separate sentence:

The Mister will not smash cake. That sounds right! (And if he does smash cake, my MOH will beat him down.)

I will not smash cake. That sounds right, too.

Me will not smash cake? That's obviously wrong. Unless you’re the Cookie Monster.

Now put them together.

The Mister and I will not smash cake in each other’s faces.

Let’s try one more. When Jack Sparrow suggested a pirate-themed wedding to (he and I) OR (him and me), we said, “Shiver me timbers!”

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Again, separate the sentences.

Jack Sparrow suggested pirates to I? Arrrr! That’s wrong.

Jack Sparrow suggested pirates to me. Ahoy! That’s right!

Jack Sparrow suggested pirates to he? Again: Arrrr!

Jack Sparrow suggested pirates to him. Ahoy! You’ve got it!

So:

When Jack Sparrow suggested a pirate-themed wedding to him and me (or to us), we said, “Shiver me timbers!”

Now if you've got a pirate-themed wedding with cake smashing, I don't know what to tell you.

It's vs. Its

The subtitle of my blog involves using the best grammar I possibly can, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. In addition to my own attempts at writing properly, I wondered whether you, dear readers, would be interested in a few tips. So every once in a while, I’ll slip in a quick post on grammar, steeped (of course!) in the imagery of the wonderful wedding world.

Before I begin, let me just say that I know I’m not an authority on all things grammatical. So here’s an open invitation to correct my grammar:

On to the lesson: It’s vs. Its

It’s is a contraction, meaning it is.

Its is possessive, meaning something belonging to it.

So you would write:
Have you seen the officiant? It’s an Elvis impersonator!

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And you would also write:
Carrie’s headpiece featured its own bird!
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But you would NOT write:
At MacGyver’s wedding, each table had it’s own centerpiece made from paperclips and chewing gum.
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Happy Monday!