English language: Personal pronouns

When personal pronouns "I" and "me" are used along with other pronouns, it can be easy to use the wrong form. For example, should it be "Jack is going to the fair with Karen and I" or "Jack is going to the fair with Karen and me"?

There are rigorous rules that can be applied; however these can sometimes be confusing. The simplest and easiest way to intuitively check is to simply remove the other pronoun and then see whether the phrase makes sense and sounds right.

From the above, it's clear that "Jack is going to the fair with I" is incorrect.

As another example, should it be "Has John seen Andy and I?" or "Has John seen Andy and me"? Again we take out the other pronoun. Clearly "Has John seen I?" is incorrect.

And finally, is it "Henry and I are well" or "Henry and me are well"? Again we take out the other pronoun and in this case we change the plural "are" to "am". Clearly "Me am well" is incorrect. It should be "I am well".

• By Etienne de L'Amour ~ Google+

English language: The indefinite article

I recently received an email complaining about my use of the indefinite articles, "a" and "an"; reminding me that "If a word starts with a vowel, use 'an'. If it starts with a consonant, use 'a'"; and going on to point out that I should also have written "an hotel".

The rule I use is this: "If a word starts with a vowel sound, use "an". If it starts with a consonant sound, use "a". Therefore I would write "a hotel" and "an honest man", and also "a unicorn" and "an umbrella".

However, some other writers and especially older and historical writers do prefer to use "an" with a sounded "h" if the first syllable is unstressed, as in "hilarious"; or for words like "hotel" that have been relatively recently co-opted from the French language and where in the French the "h" was silent.

Of course, when our fictional characters speak, it may be that they do not use "correct grammar".

I'd say go with what feels right to you -- bearing in mind that your editor or publisher may hold contrary views. Be sure to read the house guidelines.

• By Etienne de L'Amour ~ Google+