You and me / you and I Bob Blackmor from the US writes: Which is correct: you and me or you and

I? Some books say you and me is correct and others say it should be you and I. Waris from Saudi Arabia asks: Could you please explain to me the use of I and me? If I knock on the door and someone asks: Who is it? should I say It is me or It is I. If someone says: I discovered this website by accident should I say: I too have discovered it by accident or Me too.? Rosanna from France writes: Why do we say The King and I and not The King and me? I am told that not even the Queen herself knows the right answer! You do say she and me, don't you and not she and I? I - me Personal pronouns in English have one form (I, he, she, we, they) when they are used as the subject of a sentence and another form (me, him, her, us, them) when they are used as the object of a verb or follow a preposition (with me, after us, etc). This applies to all personal pronouns, as listed above, except you and it which remain the same in both subject and object forms: We gave them some chocolates and they gave us some wine. I'll lend you my flared skirt if you'll lend me your blue denims. Can you see Paul and Julie? You can't see me, but I'm standing behind him and beside her in the photo.

So whether you say you and I or you and me in co-ordinate phrases depends on whether they function as subjects or objects in the sentence: You and I should go and speak to Trevor about this matter. Trevor has indicated that he wants to interview you and me. Note that in colloquial informal British English, people often use you and me as subjects, even though it is known to be incorrect. This has led to an assumption that you and me can never be correct and people (even the Queen perhaps) then sometimes use you and I as objects instead of the correct form you and me.But for your own convenience, keep a clear distinction between them as the same rule applies to other personal pronouns, i.e it's she and I when they are the subject of the clause and her and me when they are the object: Do you know Geoffrey? Well, he and I are going to Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea on Saturday. They wouldn't listen to her or me when I said we couldn't go with them. Me too! - It's me! In very short answers like this, we usually prefer the object form:

Who's that behind the sofa? ~ It's me! I want to go to Chris Cornell's concert at the London Astoria next Friday. ~ Me too!

The response Me too is particularly useful if you readily agree with someone about something. Note the difference in tone between the use of also and too in the following sentences where also is used in a longer, more considered response: I might get one of those new mobile phones. ~ Yeah, I'm also thinking of trading up. I might get one of those new mobile phones. ~ Yeah, me too.

object pronouns after asas / like / but / than Similarly, we normally use object pronouns after asas, like, but meaning except and than, although subject + verb is sometimes possible as an alternative. Compare the following: He can't run as fast as me, so he's better off as a defender. He can't run as fast as I can, so he's better off as a defender. They say you look exactly like me when I was eighteen They say you look exactly as I did when I was eighteen Well, that's Tracy for you! Nobody but her would go to shopping wearing gloves! Everybody, except Tony and me, got back before sundown. I'm taller than her, so I should stand at the back. I'm taller than she is, so I should stand at the back.

Every and all Cristian Abarzua from Chile writes: Why is it that words such as everybody are followed by the verb in the singular, e.g. Everybody needs some fun? Can this rule be applied to words such as everyone, everything? Thank you for your help. Barzinji Ihsan from Iraq writes: A question concerning concord; what kind of verb goes with all. Is it singular or plural: All is finished or All are finished? Every

Every, like each, is always used with a singular noun form and therefore with a singular verb form in English because we are counting the things or people that we are talking about separately one by one:

Every child in the class plays a musical instrument.

Every instrument belonging to the school is tuned regularly.

everybody / everyone / everything It is true that everybody and everyone refers to everybody and everyone in a group of people and everything refers to everything in a group of things. Even so, they are still perceived individually or as a totality, so the singular verb form is still maintained:

Is everybody happy with that? Does everyone understand my position? Everything she owns has been stolen.

all - with singular verb forms All is more often used with plural verb forms, though sometimes it is used with singular verbs. This happens when we are referring to all as a totality of items under consideration. Here, all is close in meaning to everything:

Is all well with you? Don't cry! All that matters is that you are safe. That is all she has in her suitcase: a blouse, two dresses and a pair of sandals. All she wants now is to get back home to her parents. All that happened was that she got on to the wrong train.

Note that in this sense, all is often used together with a relative that-clause, all that matters, all she wants, etc. In your example, Ihsan, as there is no relative clause following all, we would be more likely to say:

Is everything finished? ~ Yes, everything is finished

All - with plural or singular verb forms

However, if we wish to specify the things or people under discussion, we can use all or all of with nouns and pronouns and the correspondingly correct singular or plural verb forms. Compare the following: Is everything finished? Has all (of) the cake been eaten? Has all of it been consumed? Has it all been demolished? Have all (of) the presents been distributed? All (of) my friends have come to my party. All of us are going to Sam's party next week. We're all going. All of them were singing Happy Birthday. They were all singing Happy Birthday when the lights went out.

Note from the above examples that all and all of are mainly used with uncountable (e.g. cake) and plural (e.g. presents, friends) nouns. With personal pronouns, two realisations are possible, e.g. all of us or we all. all - for emphasis Finally note that all can be used for emphasis with certain adjectives and adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions. Here, all is close in meaning to completely:

Your feet are all wet. Have your boots got a hole in them? I got scared, ran off and left her all alone. All around me I could hear people calling her name. Tell me all about your kayak trip up the estuary.. I got sunburnt and it was all because I didn't have a wide-brimmed hat.

The' with place names: rules and exceptions

Michael, studying English in the US, writes: 'Why don't we put the definite article the before Britain in the text below: Just like the total eclipse of the sun in 1999, the total eclipse of the moon on 16 May 2003 could not be seen in most parts of Britain because of cloud cover.'

continents, countries, states, counties, provinces: zero article We normally use no article when referring to these larger and smaller areas: South-East Asia, North America, West Africa, Central Europe America, Great Britain, New Zealand, Japan, Russia, China Florida, Cornwall, Brittany, Bavaria, Guangdong Province However, when the name of a country indicates multiple areas or when the word republic is used as part of the name, the definite article is required: The US (The United States), The UK (The United Kingdom) The Philippines, The Netherlands, The Czech Republic, The Baltic States, The West Indies, The People's Republic of China Note that when discussing politics, we speak of the government of the UK, but when discussing nature we are more likely to say the fauna and flora of the British Isles. When discussing specific areas, the definite article is normally required: The South of France, the West Coast of Ireland the Eastern Seaboard of America

The South of France attracts many visitors each year for both the Monaco Grand Prix and the Cannes Film Festival.

lakes: zero article; seas and rivers: the Note also that when we are referring to seas and rivers, the definite article is required, but when we refer to inland waters or lakes, it is omitted:

Lake Windermere is in the Lake District. Loch Lomond is in the Highlands of Scotland. The Danube flows into the Black Sea.

individual mountains: zero article; mountain groups: the

Everest and K2 are the two highest mountains in the world, both situated in the Himalayas. The highest mountain in Britain is Ben Nevis, which you can find in the Grampians in the Scottish Highlands

buildings: the or zero article When it comes to buildings, it is more difficult to see a pattern emerging. It is more a case of Learn It. Compare the following:

The Eiffel Tower and the Tower of London are two landmarks in the capital cities of France and Britain. If you come to London, be sure to visit Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. - Where's Charing Cross station? - It's off Trafalgar Square, between the Post Office and Coutts Bank in the Strand.

But note that the names of most hotels and pubs, many theatres and cinemas and most museums and art galleries need to be used with the definite article:

- Shall we eat at the Goose? - No, I'm a vegetarian. Let's eat at the Slug and Lettuce. The Filmworks in Greenwich is a huge cinema complex next to the Holiday Inn on the Greenwich peninsula. The National Gallery is on the northern side of Trafalgar Square, opposite Nelson's Column. It's about a fifteen-minute walk from The British Museum.

street names: no article Usually no article, but note the exceptions in the examples below:

The Strand, Whitehall and the Mall are three of the most famous streets in the history of London. When you come to the main road, turn right and you'll find the coffee shop in the High Street.