Hello English Learners!

Today I'd like to look a commonly misused (and overused) expression by students: "As for me."

A lot of times I see students use this at the beginning of an assignment, but the problem is that "As for me" is a RESPONSE and NOT A TOPIC. 

Let's look at the following situation:

John: What do you think about this election?
Peter: I know a lot of people have very strong feelings on the subject, but, as for me, I'm still undecided. 

We see here that John asked a question and Peter gave an answer. Peter used "as for me" near the end of his response. This is because "as for me" shows a contrast to a statement you previously made. Peter said that "a lot of people have very strong feelings on the subject" but, Peter still doesn't know who he wants to support. This means that Peter does not have strong feelings one way or the other. 

Think about it this way:

1. Question
2. Response
a. Explanation
b. As for me
c. Contrasting statement

This is the most natural way to use this expression. Now, of course, you might see and hear people use "as for me" at the beginning of a sentence, but this is meant to be ironic and funny. Let's look at one example. 

John: Wow, she's beautiful huh?
Peter: As for me, I could take it or leave it.

Here, Peter's response is unnatural which alerts John to the fact that he needs to listen carefully to what Peter is about to say next. Peter is not impressed by the way the woman looks, and he emphasizes this by misusing "as for me" to get John's attention. 

Simply put, don't start sentences with "as for me," unless you have spent some time explaining a different point of view first. Then you can use "as for me" to begin your explanation of how your opinion or experience is different from what you have just described. 

Can you think of other times when people use or misuse this expression? Leave your thoughts in the comments below :-)

Until Next Time!

Greg