The Problem

Many speakers and writers of English use the expression "between you and I." People use this expression because it makes them sound more educated -- or so they think. In their effort to appear sophisticated, people blithely say, "Just between you and I, company xyz will go public next week." As difficult as it may be to believe, this expression is wrong.

We have had it pounded into us over and over that we say and write "you and I" that we use "you and I" for everything. We have to think about what we say and write or we will appear illiterate and uneducated.

Between is a Preposition

The word between is a preposition. Prepositions are words that show relationships between nouns or pronouns. Examples of prepositions include: about, above, below, beneath, in, over, and, of course, between. The noun or pronoun after a preposition is called the object of the preposition. The problem does not manifest itself when we use actual nouns. For example, no one would have any trouble with "between a rock (noun) and a hard place (noun" or "between Mary (noun) and Jill (noun)." In English, nouns in the objective case (used as objects) are not different from their subject form. But such is not the case with pronouns.

Use Objective Case Pronouns After a Preposition

After a preposition, like between, speakers and writers must use objective, not subjective, case pronouns. The following is a short list of pronouns in the subjective case and the objective case:

Subjective Case: I, We, He, She, They

Objective Case: Me, Us, Him, Her, Them

The expression "It is all about me" would not make sense if it were written "It is all about I." Similarly, the sentence, "There is no one behind we" is non-standard and would not be accepted by any native speaker of English. Some people get confused when there are two pronouns as the object of a preposition.

Check for Correctness After Prepositions

A safe way of making sure that you are using the correct pronoun case after a proposition is to convert the two singular pronouns into one plural pronoun. What this means is that if you are not sure of whether to use "between you and I" (which is always wrong) or "between you and me" (which is the correct form), change "you and me," which are both singular pronouns, to "we" or "us," which are their plural equivalents.

Would you ever say, "There is nothing between we"? I did not think so. This sentence sounds totally wrong to a native speaker of English.

Would you say, "There is nothing between us"? Of course you would. This sounds natural and proper.

The pronoun us is in the objective case. So if we separate the "us" into its component parts ("you and me" or "you and me") we know that we must use the objective case form of the singular pronouns. Therefore, we pick "between you and me."

If nothing else, just remember: "Between you and I" is always wrong. Use "Between you and me."

You may have additional questions about using correct English. If you do, please contact me. My name is Jose M. Blanco. I teach English composition, and I have developed worksheets to help students and teachers alike. Please visit my website, http://www.grammar-worksheets.com for additional resources and contact information.