Admitting to a very lowly guilty pleasure isn’t how I would have chosen to kick off our blog. But reality TV dating is such rich and fertile land for harvesting language abuse that I couldn’t resist the temptation to go there. The show’s inelegantly scripted protagonists talk earnestly to the camera; their memorized soundbites are designed to offer careful and reflective commentary on  – and some respite from – the alcohol-fueled antics (linguistic and otherwise) of the couples’ various interactions. It’s like catnip to the glossophile – especially when it comes to you and me.

In dating life (both reality/fake and real), there’s a lot of you and me, him and her, them and us. And there are those who wrongly believe that “you and me” is wrong and “you and I” is right, if you’re speaking the Queen’s English correctly, no matter what the context. Gazing into each others’ eyes over wine and room-keys, the reality couples whisper hopefully: “There’s a real connection between you and I.”  And what happens when they venture tentatively into the land of possessives, and they’re tiptoeing around what they – or their romantic rivals – might have? You got it. “Ever since we met, I’ve sensed that you and I’s chemistry is undeniable.” … “I worry about what happened on you and she’s date.”

It’s yours and mine, kid.