He and I or He and Me? Which Is Correct?

The correct choice between “he and I” and “he and me” depends on the grammatical role of the phrase in the sentence.

Use “he and I” when the two people are the subject performing an action: “He and I went to school.” Use “he and me” when the phrase is the object receiving an action: “The teacher spoke to him and me.”

The easiest way to choose correctly is to remove he from the sentence and see whether I or me sounds right. For example,

“He and I went home” becomes “I went home,” so he and I is correct. But “She invited he and me” becomes “

She invited me,” so he and me is correct. This simple test works in most everyday situations and helps avoid a very common English grammar mistake.

Quick Answer

Use “he and I” when the phrase is the subject of a sentence: “He and I are friends.” Use “he and me” when the phrase is the object: “She invited him and me.” Remove “he” from the sentence to test it: if I works, use “he and I”; if me works, use “him and me.”

Why Do People Confuse “He and I” and “He and Me”?

The confusion often comes from the idea that “he and I” sounds more formal or correct. In fact, neither phrase is automatically correct in every sentence.

The choice depends on whether the pronoun is functioning as a subject or an object.

Compare:

He and I went to the store.

Here, he and I are doing the action, so they are the subjects.

But:

The manager called him and me.

Here, him and me receive the action of being called, so they are objects.

There is also an important detail: when he changes to an object pronoun, it becomes him, not he.

So the correct pairs are:

• he and I → subject
• him and me → object

First Word: “He and I”

He and I is a compound subject.

Use it when he and I are performing the action described by the verb.

Examples:

• He and I work together.
• He and I went to the library.
• He and I are good friends.
• He and I finished the project.
• He and I will attend the meeting.

A quick test is to remove he:

He and I went home.

Remove he:

I went home.

That sounds correct, so he and I is correct.

Second Word: “He and Me”

The phrase “he and me” is not normally correct when both pronouns are the subject.

However, he and me can appear in informal speech in some constructions, but in standard grammar the object form should be:

him and me

For example:

She invited him and me.

Not:

❌ She invited he and me.

And:

The teacher spoke to him and me.

Not:

❌ The teacher spoke to he and me.

This is because he is a subject pronoun, while him is the object form.

He and I vs Him and Me: Comparison Table

Phrase	Grammatical role	When to use it	Example
He and I	Subject	When both people perform the action	He and I went shopping.
Him and me	Object	When both people receive the action or follow a preposition	She invited him and me.
He and me	Mixed forms	Usually incorrect in standard English	❌ She invited he and me.
Him and I	Mixed forms	Usually incorrect in standard English	❌ Him and I went home.

The key point is that the pronouns need to match their grammatical roles.

When Should You Use “He and I” or “Him and Me”?

Use “he and I” as the subject

Use he and I when the pair performs the action.

Examples:

• He and I went shopping.
• He and I discussed the problem.
• He and I are working on the project.
• He and I visited the museum.

Use “him and me” as the object

Use him and me when the pair receives the action.

Examples:

• She called him and me.
• The teacher helped him and me.
• They invited him and me.
• The manager spoke to him and me.

Use “him and me” after a preposition

Prepositions normally take object pronouns.

Common prepositions include:

• to
• for
• with
• between
• from
• about
• beside

Examples:

• This gift is for him and me.
• She went with him and me.
• The decision is between him and me.
• They talked about him and me.

10+ Examples of “He and I” and “Him and Me”

Examples with “he and I”

1. He and I went to the park.
2. He and I are classmates.
3. He and I finished the assignment.
4. He and I work at the same company.
5. He and I discussed the problem.
6. He and I will attend the meeting.
7. He and I traveled together last year.

Examples with “him and me”

8. She invited him and me to dinner.
9. The teacher spoke to him and me.
10. The manager thanked him and me.
11. They gave him and me some useful advice.
12. The decision was between him and me.
13. She worked with him and me on the project.
14. The coach congratulated him and me.

A useful comparison

He and I completed the work.

But:

The supervisor praised him and me.

In the first sentence, the pair does the action. In the second, the pair receives the action.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: “Him and I went to school.”

❌ Him and I went to school.

✅ He and I went to school.

The pair is the subject, so use he and I.

Mistake 2: “She invited he and I.”

❌ She invited he and I.

✅ She invited him and me.

The pair is the object of invited, so use him and me.

Mistake 3: “He and me went shopping.”

❌ He and me went shopping.

✅ He and I went shopping.

Remove he:

Me went shopping. ❌

I went shopping. ✅

Therefore, he and I is correct.

Mistake 4: “Between he and I”

❌ Between he and I

✅ Between him and me

The preposition between requires object pronouns.

Mistake 5: Thinking “he and I” is always more correct

He and I is not automatically the correct choice.

For example:

She spoke to him and me.

Using he and I here would be incorrect because the phrase is the object of to.

Memory Trick

Use the remove-one-person test.

Take the sentence:

He and I went to the store.

Remove he:

I went to the store.

That works, so he and I is correct.

Now try:

The teacher called him and me.

Remove him:

The teacher called me.

That works, so him and me is correct.

The simple rule

Doing the action → he and I
Receiving the action → him and me

American vs British English

The basic rule is the same in American and British English.

Both varieties use:

• He and I went home.
• She invited him and me.
• The decision is between him and me.

However, everyday speech can sometimes differ from formal written grammar. Native speakers may use forms such as “me and him” in casual conversation. This does not change the standard subject/object rule taught in formal English.

For school, academic, professional, and formal writing, use the appropriate subject or object pronouns.

Similar Words

The same subject-and-object distinction applies to other pronoun pairs.

I vs me

• I called her.
• She called me.

He vs him

• He helped me.
• I helped him.

She vs her

• She called us.
• We called her.

We vs us

• We finished the project.
• The teacher praised us.

They vs them

• They invited us.
• We invited them.

These pairs follow the same basic principle: subject pronouns perform actions, while object pronouns receive actions or follow prepositions.

Final Verdict

The correct phrase depends on the role the pronouns play in the sentence.

Use “he and I” when the two people are the subject:

He and I went to the store.

Use “him and me” when the two people are the object:

She invited him and me.

The phrase “he and me” is generally incorrect in standard English when you are trying to use the two pronouns together as subject and object. Likewise, “him and I” is normally incorrect when the pair is the subject.

The easiest method is to remove one person from the sentence. If I sounds correct, use he and I. If me sounds correct, use him and me.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it “he and I” or “he and me”?

Both can be part of correct sentences, but their roles differ. Use he and I as a subject and him and me as an object.

Is “he and me” grammatically correct?

Not normally in standard English when he and me are being used as a pair. If the phrase is an object, use him and me.

Is “him and I” correct?

Usually, no. If the pair is the subject, use he and I. If the pair is the object, use him and me.

Should I say “He and I went” or “Him and I went”?

Say “He and I went.” The pronouns are the subject of the verb went.

Should I say “between he and I” or “between him and me”?

The standard form is “between him and me.” The preposition between is followed by object pronouns.

How can I quickly know whether to use “I” or “me”?

Remove the other person from the sentence. If the remaining sentence needs I, use he and I. If it needs me, use him and me.

Is “me and him” wrong?

Me and him is common in informal speech, but it is not the standard formal subject form. In formal English, use he and I when they are the subject and him and me when they are the object.

Remember This

Remember these two patterns:

He and I = subject

Him and me = object

Examples:

• He and I are friends.
• He and I went home.
• She invited him and me.
• The teacher spoke to him and me.

If you are unsure, remove one person and test the remaining pronoun.

Conclusion

Choosing between he and I and him and me is really a question of grammar, not formality. He and I is used when the pair is performing the action, while him and me is used when the pair receives the action or follows a preposition. For example, “He and I completed the project” uses the subject form, while “The manager praised him and me” uses the object form.

A simple test makes the choice much easier. Remove one person from the sentence and see whether I or me is correct. If you would say “I went,” use he and I. If you would say “She called me,” use him and me. This method works across many everyday sentences and can help you avoid common pronoun errors.