I vs. Me / Between you and me

One of my biggest pet peeves is the improper use of "I" and "me" and "between you and me". It's especially annoying when used incorrectly by people who I know aren't dummies.

I vs. Me:

Simply put, "I" is a pronoun that must be the subject of a verb. "Me" is a pronoun that must be the object of the verb.

I is the first person singular subject pronoun, which means that it refers to the person performing the action of a verb.

David and I went to the store.

Me is an object pronoun, which means that it refers to the person that the action of a verb is being done to, or to which a preposition refers.

He told Judy and me to have a nice day.

The easiest way to decipher the two is to remove the other noun from the sentence and see if it still makes sense:

Incorrect	Correct
Me went to the store.	I went to the store.
David and me went to the store. (Sound silly? Yes - and cavemannish.)	David and I went to the store.

Incorrect	Correct
He told I to have a nice day.	He told me to have a nice day.
He told Judy and I to have a nice day. (Sounds silly and, I have to say, pretentious and douchebaggy.)	He told Judy and me to have a nice day.

Incorrect	Correct
She brought I a drink.	She brought me a drink.
She brought Tom and I a drink.	She brought Tom and me a drink.

or reverse:

Incorrect	Correct
She brought a drink to I.	She brought a drink to me.
She brought and a drink to Tom and I. (Again, pretentious sounding.)	She brought a drink to Tom and me.

Between you and me:

Between is a preposition like with, to and from. A preposition must be followed by an indirect object pronoun. Me is an indirect object pronoun, and I is a subject pronoun. Therefore, between has to be followed by me, not I.

Incorrect	Correct
He went with I.	He went with me.
He gave it to I.	He gave it to me.
It's a gift from I.	It's a gift from me.
The teacher wants to talk to you and I.	The teacher wants to talk to you and me.
The issue is between you and I.	The issue is between you and me.

Still confused about I or me? If I was doing something, I would use I. If I was doing something with someone else, I would use I. If something was happening to me, I would use me. If it was happening to someone else and me, I would use me.

Still confused about between? It's ALWAYS "between you and me", Never "between you and I". That's the rule.

Ow. My brain...

Sources:

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation by Jane Straus and Mignon Fogart

The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Rodney D. Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum