I don’t know if you’ve heard of the group dc Talk, but they do have some pretty cool songs. In my opinion, one of their catchiest songs is Between You and Me, not only because of the tune but also because of the lyrics. Sticklers for grammar (yes, you) will be hearing warnings bells by now. Let me share the song with you first before we get down to business, alright?
Just between you and me
I’ve got something to say
Wanna get it straight
Before the sun goes down
Just between you and me
Confession needs to be made
Recompense is my way to freedom now1
Now aren’t those words just beautiful? I have to admit that there is an oft-repeated phrase that I find interesting: just between you and me. Is this proper English? Shouldn’t it be just between you and I?
Here’s the dish: between you and me is correct! While many English speakers will simply tell you that it “sounds better”, there is actually a technical explanation for this phrase.
The key lies in the preposition – between. When a pronoun comes after a preposition, we have to use the accusative case (and no, I am not accusing anyone of grammatical inaccuracy here), as opposed to the nominative case. Some examples of pronouns in the accusative case: me, you, him, her, and us. Some examples of pronouns in the nominative case: I, you, he, she, and we. 2
Just between you and me, I’d rather not talk about accusative/nominative cases. Suffice it to say that people who say between you and me are not making a mistake.
- Bear with the lyrics: Please overlook the punctuation – or lack of it! [↩]
- Note: If accusative and nominative sound a bit too technical for you, substitute them with objective and subjective, respectively. [↩]
Two things to note: I don’t know of a single writer who would think between you and I would possibly be correct. Everyone knows this. It makes me wonder if the writer of the post has been getting this wrong for years, finally discovered she was wrong and assumed the rest of us are making this mistake.
We aren’t.
Two, those lyrics? Terrible! Passive voice? “Recompense?” “Some pretty cool songs?” Wait, that last one is from the writer of the post. Still. Sloppy writing. I hope no one got paid for this.
Grammarian,
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It makes me wonder if the writer of the post has been getting this wrong for years, finally discovered she was wrong and assumed the rest of us are making this mistake.
I personally do find the use of comma in this sentence rather poor, appalling even.
Noemi, I love your post — and I disagree with Grmmarian. There are a lot of writers out there — and people in general — and teachers, oh my — who think that “between you and I is correct. I teach College English, and I have to dedicate a lesson to this because all my students leave high school believing “between you and me” is incorrect. And what kills me the most, is that TV, Movies, and the media plague our screens with the incorrect version. I Stumbled, FB’d and tweeted this because you posted a fun and unique way of pointing out the differences. I also love the way your supervisors stand up for you. That is classy!
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