Grammar Help: Me, Myself, or I?
By Jennifer Walker
Deciding whether to use me, myself or I in a sentence is one of the most common grammar mistakes people make. English grammar rules are complicated, and it can be easy to forget them if you don’t adhere to them all the time. Proper grammar is essential to making a good impression, whether you’re expressing yourself vocally or in writing. It doesn’t matter if you’re communicating with a customer, applying for a job, or any other types of communication, it’s important to learn how to use English correctly. In many cases, you only have one chance to make a good impression, so wow them with correct grammar! This article will focus on whether to use me, myself or I in a sentence.
At some point during their education, many people developed the idea that we shouldn’t use the word “me.” Perhaps it had something to do with all the “Spot and I went for a walk” type of exercises. As a result, I often see communications that say things like, “Please give your requests to Suzie or I…” or “Please give your time sheets to Bob or myself.” Both are incorrect no matter how right they sound to your ear, so this article will show you how to construct such sentences correctly.
Only use “I” when you are referring to yourself in the subject of the sentence. In other words, you are the one taking action. “I threw the rock.” This seems simple enough, but what gets confusing is when you add another person to the subject. An easy way to decide whether you should use me, myself, or I in combination with another person in the sentence is to temporarily remove the other person and see what sounds right.
Which of these is correct? Remove the other person to see which sounds best.
A. “Lisa and I went to the movies.”
B. “Lisa and myself went to the movies.”
C. “Lisa and me went to the movies.”
The correct answer is A. If you remove Lisa, you now have a choice between “I went to the movies,” “Myself went to the movies,” or “Me went to the movies.” It’s easy to see that the first choice is correct.
The pronoun “me” should be used when someone else will perform the action to, or for, you. Which of these is correct?
A. “If you have a problem, please call Rick or myself.”
B. “If you have a problem, please call Rick or me.”
C. “If you have a problem, please call Rick or I.”
In this example, you are asking someone to call you, or perform an action to you. If you forget that rule, just remove Rick from the sentence: “If you have a problem, please call me.”
The pronoun “myself” should only be used when you are performing the action on yourself. No one else can do anything to yourself.
Here are a few examples of how “myself” can be used correctly:
A. “I want to dress myself today”
B. “I’ll wash the dishes myself.”
C. “I got some ice cream for Grace and myself” (If confused, remove Greg from the sentence and see how it sounds.)
By using this simple technique, you should find it easy to use the correct usage for me, myself, or I. It may sound odd to you at first if you’ve been using these words incorrectly, but in time you’ll become used to it.
