The Grammar Police Never Sleep

[chomiji]

So at the office and online, I've had examples of this common confusion whack me over the head recently:

When he accepted the transfer, Mick handed the assignment over to Fran and I.

Lyra noticed that Rock was leading the newcomer toward she and Hannah.

Look, people. If having the compound noun in the receptive (indirect object) position confuses, knock the participants back to just one, the one using a pronoun:

When he accepted the transfer, Mick handed the assignment over to I.

Lyra noticed that Rock was leading the newcomer toward she.

The problem should be glaring at this point. You shouldn't be using the nominative (subject) form of the pronouns as the indirect object. The same is true even when more than one person is involved.

So, let's rewrite our problem sentences like this:

When he accepted the transfer, Mick handed the assignment over to Fran and me.

Lyra noticed that Rock was leading the newcomer toward her and Hannah.

Thank you, folks. Really.

Comments

[yhlee]

Oh yeah, I see this one all the time.

[lauand]

Ha, ha, I have the opposite problem, actually. I tend to use dative for everything, just in case. In my defence, native English-speakers do it, too, so that's why it sounds correct to me most of the time.

In any case, that's a very good way to look at it. People remember this kind of stuff when it's explained like this.

[zhelana]

haha thank you so much. This is one of my pet peeves.

[theskywasblue]

I just had a discussion about this error with a friend (I was helping edit a cover letter for her) and it's one of the few grammar rules I actually remember! (along with who vs whom ha ha)