“… something that I and our team appreciate.”

Common English Blunders

I saw this in an email message.

Problem:
The writer incorrectly put himself first.

Explanation:
There seems to be a growing lack of courtesy in spoken and written American English.

One place where this lack of courtesy appears is in word order.

In particular, some speakers and writers put themselves before others in lists. Here are some examples:

  • “I and James are going to the store.”
  • “Please give it to me and him.”
  • “His work over the years is something that I and our team appreciate.”

I don’t know whether these writers and speakers were “absent that day in English class” or whether they’ve forgotten what they learned, but the standard, which is based on courtesy, is to put others before oneself in a list.

Rewriting the above examples, we get the following:

  • “James and I are going to the store.”
  • “Please give it to him and me.”
  • “His work over the years is something that our team and I appreciate.”

Solution:
“… something that our team and I appreciate.”