When a Pronoun is the Subject of an Infinitive…

When a Pronoun is the Subject of an Infinitive†¦ When a Pronoun is the Subject of an Infinitive When a Pronoun is the Subject of an Infinitive By Maeve Maddox Ive written several posts about the error of beginning a sentence with an object form of the pronoun. For example: Me and my brother want to get matching tattoos. Her and her husband want to buy a digital camera. The neighbors and us decided In each of these examples, the pronoun is being used as the subject of a verb. Because the pronoun is standing as the subject of the verb, the subject form of the pronoun is called for: My brother and I want to She and her husband want The neighbors and we decided There is, however, a grammatical context in which the object form of a pronoun may correctly stand in front of a verb form. The exception occurs when a pronoun stands in front of an infinitive. Reminder: the infinitive form of the verb is the present form with to in front of it: Ex. to go, to seem, to run, etc. When a pronoun precedes an infinitive, it takes the object form: My mother wants me to learn computer programming. We never expected them to move away. The principal told him and the other boy to go home. Here, taken from the web, are some examples of pronoun errors with the infinitive: They told my friend and I to get up and move. I wanted he and I to watch our kids grow up together My parents expected my brother and I to do well in school. Corrections: They told my friend and me to get up and move. I wanted him and me to watch our kids grow up together My parents expected my brother and me to do well in school. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Has vs. HadAnyone vs. Everyone75 Synonyms for â€Å"Hard†