Adaanist Grammar Rule #10 | Compound Subjects with Pronouns
Rule #10: When two or more subjects are joined by “and”, all parts of the subject must be in the subjective case (I, he, she, we, they), not in the objective case (me, him, her, us, them).
Shah Adaan Uzzaman
July 22, 2025
Rule #10: When two or more subjects are joined by “and”, all parts of the subject must be in the subjective case (I, he, she, we, they), not in the objective case (me, him, her, us, them).
❌ Sarah and me are working on the project.
✅ Sarah and I are working on the project.
What is a Compound Subject?
A compound subject means you have two or more people or things joined by “and” that do the action together. It’s like a team of words acting as the subject of the sentence.
Examples:
My friends and I (2 people, acting together as the subject)
Rahim, Karim, and I (3 people, acting together as the subject)
So, when you join names/nouns and pronouns, you are creating one big subject.
All the parts of this compound subject must follow the same rule: they should be in the subject form (also called the subjective case).
Why does the Form of the Pronoun Matter?
In English, pronouns have 2 forms:
Subject Form (Subjective Case) | Object Form (Objective Case) |
|---|---|
Use in Subject | Use in Object |
I, he, she, we, they | me, him, her, us, them |
If the pronoun is part of the subject, you must use the subject form.
Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|
We went to the park. | Us went to the park (Sounds wrong, right?) |
How to find the subject?
Ask: Who is doing the action?
Example:
Who is going to the movie?
Answer: My cousin and I (not “me”)
So the correct sentence is:
My cousin and I are going to the movie.
Think like this: The subject is the doer of the action.
The word I is a subject pronoun (it does the action).
The word me is an object pronoun (it receives the action).
So you can’t say:
✘ “Me play football.”
✔ “I play football.”
"If 'me' cannot act alone as a subject, it cannot act in a group either (as a compound subject).
If pronoun is in the subject → Use subjective case (I, he, she, we, they).
If pronoun is in the object → Use objective case (me, him, her, us, them).
🧨 Trap #10: “Sounds Right” Trap
This is a commonly used trap that IBA exam uses to mislead students.
When I was a kid trying to solve past-year IBA DU English questions, I used to answer grammar questions based on “what I felt sounded right.”
IBA faculties also know this. They know very well that students often answer questions based on “what simply sounds right” to their ears.
To be honest, when you are having a real conversation with someone, grammar doesn’t really matter much.
I communicate with Americans all the time who are native English speakers. They don’t care about grammar while speaking.
Do you care about grammar while you are speaking Bangla?
No, you don’t…
But when it comes to a competitive test like IBA DU, we have to learn some of the grammar rules the right way so that we can crack the exam.
In everyday speech, people often say:
Me and my friends are going out.
Sounds okay, but grammatically ❌ for exams.
In the grammar questions, IBA faculties will give you a sentence that sounds just right; however, in reality, it is grammatically incorrect.
So, be aware of this trap.
Also…
When the pronoun comes last, students wrongly pick “me” because it “feels” right after others’ names.
Example:
❌ My parents and me are here.
✅ My parents and I are here.
🧰 Toolbox
Cross out extra words and check the pronoun alone.
Did you notice we are using the same tool that we learned in Adaanist Grammar Rule #1?
Example:
My sister, my brother, and ___ invited them.
My sister, my brother, and ___ invited them.
___ invited them.
Correct: I invited them. (Not Me invited them.)
Sometimes, trusting what “sounds natural” might be useful, but not always. This is one of those cases where you should trust the grammar rules, not what “sounds good.”
💥 Examples
Example #1
The project leader, Sam, and me / I will present the report to the board.
✅ I is correct - read as: I will present the report.
Example #2
She / her and her best friend plan to start a small business soon.
✅ She is correct - read as: She plans to start a small business.
Example #3
After the training session, Rahul and me / I are going to help the new recruits.
✅ I is correct - read as: I am going to help the new recruits.
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