I was flipping channels last night and came across Prince William and Prince Harry on stage. I stopped for a moment, curious what was going on. (I didn't know they were doing the 10 Year anniversary tribute of Diana's death. I mostly didn't know this because she died close to September I think in 1997, I'm going to guess and say September 29, and the 10 years aren't there yet, but July 1 was her birthday, so this makes sense, I guess.)
Anyway, all I heard was this little grammatical gem (and I'm paraphrasing ever so slightly, but believe me; I got the important part correct):
Prince William: "....and we want to thank you all for allowing Harry and I to be here tonight...."
Did you see it? Allowing Harry and I??????
This drives me crazy. Galvonically, it's something that only educated people do. Well, slightly educated. They are taught so fiercely about saying "Harry and me" that they change any instance, even when the "Harry and me" would be appropriate!
People, in case you're confused: take out the other person and try the sentence that way. Would you ever say, "...want to thank you for allowing I to be here tonight..."????
Of course not. It sounds ridiculous that way. I actually hear quite a few people on TV say this, and it always drives me nuts.
But what makes me even more upset is how the handlers let William go out with a cue-card that said this grammar, or if he had memorized the speech, why someone didn't correct him ahead of time!
I had to turn the channel almost immediately. It made me cringe to think about that boy embarrassing himself. I thought of how they'd make fun of him today on cable news and talk shows.
Even worse: maybe no one will make fun of him, because no one even noticed.
Now there's a scary thought.
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