Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1776-1825, 1879-1934, 1987-2004
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I, pers. pron.
Sc. forms and usages:
A. Forms: nom. I; a, etc. (see A, pers. pron.); eh, ey (Dundee); accus. me; mei (s.Sc. 1873 D.S.C.S. 191, when emphatic; e.Dmf. 1952 Scotsman (31 May)), mey (s.Sc. 1818 Scott Letters (Cent. ed.) V. 155), unemphatic also ma. Phr. a ma ( = on me)). For poss. adj., see Mine, My. Sc. 1791 Archie o Cawfield in Child Ballads No. 188. B. xv.:
Out then spak Dickie and said, Let some o the weight fa on me; "O shame a ma!" co Jokie Ha, For he's no the weight of a poor flee."Sc. 1802 Scott Minstrelsy (1848) II. 122:
I wot they cost me dear eneugh. The shame a ma.[Sc. stressed ɑe; unstressed ɑ, ə, ʌ, s.Ags. e; Sc. stressed mi:, s.Sc. məi; unstressed mɑ, mə. See P.L.D. §103.]Dundee 1989 W. N. Herbert in Joy Hendry Chapman 55-6 93:
whan Dundee gleikit in view
whan Eh wiz fehv:Dundee 1990 Sheila Stephen in Joy Hendry Chapman 60 51:
"Well!" she cried when she'd poured their tea. "Eh canna keep it in ony langir! Eh've goat a rare story ti tell yi the day, Bella! ... "Dundee 1996 Matthew Fitt Pure Radge 10:
elaine sehs she's awa doon the murraygait
- eh, eh ken
B. Usages: me is used for the nom. I, esp. in colloq. or rather illiterate speech, when conjoined with another subject, which it freq. precedes, in exclams. of surprise or protest before an infin., in pseudo-Highl. Sc., and in phrs. (1) and me, considering that I . . ., especially since I. . . .(2) that's me, That's where I am, what I'm doing.(2)Gsw. 1987 Peter Mason C'mon Geeze Yer Patter! 81:
Right, that's me, a'm away then! I'll be taking my leave now!Sc. 2003 Herald 16 Dec 18:
"Well, that's me, I'll not be back here again."
Concerned, staff asked if they'd done something to offend him. "Nothing," he said. "It's just that when I had an operation, you gave me nine pints of blood, and now I've given you the nine pints back." Edb. 2004:
That's me since this morning.
In regard to word-order, me as indirect obj. usu. precedes the direct obj. it, e.g. give me it, show me it = Eng. give (show) it me (Sc. 1787 J. Beattie Scotticisms 54; s.Sc. 1873 D.S.C.S. 191). Gen.Sc.Sc. 1776 D. Herd Sc. Songs II. 187:
Me never saw the like, man.Ayr. 1823 Galt R. Gilhaize II. xxi.:
She's a pious wife, sir. Me ca' her a witch!Sc. 1825 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) I. 2:
Me and Wordsworth are aboon the age we live in.Abd. a.1880 W. Robbie Yonderton xx.:
Aw'm railly nae wise t' be sittin' clatterin' awa here, an' me hiz sic a lang road afore ma.Fif. 1896 G. Setoun R. Urquhart iii.:
Ba'bingry an' me's both wrang?m.Sc. 1917 J. Buchan Poems 36:
Me and Dauvit Sma' And Robert Todd, the herd at Meldonha'.Cai. 1934 John o' Groat Jnl. (19 Jan.):
Me lose min' on 'e show?
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"I pers.pron.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/I_pers_pron>
