Welcome to this month’s blog. Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Megan. I am an editor and today I’m talking about my favorite subject – me!
Well, not me personally. I mean the pronoun “me,” as well as “myself” and “I.” (Besides, “me” is an object, not a subject … but that’s a joke for word nerds).
The usage of these three pronouns can often be confused, even by professionals. How many times have you heard, “She’s way better than me” while listening to a podcast or read, “Please reach out to Kamryn, Greg or myself” in an email? You’ve probably heard it more times than you’ve heard De La Soul’s hit song “Me, Myself and I.”
But did you know both those instances are incorrect?
Cookie Monster can’t help with this grammar problem, but that’s where me I come in.
I have something to say.
The pronoun “I” is the subject of a sentence. “I” is used when the person speaking is doing the action (the verb).
Remember when you were corrected to say, “My friend and I,” instead of, “My friend and me”? Well, your teachers were right, but here’s a tip on how to know you’re using the right pronoun: Cut out everyone else from the sentence except you (note: don’t do this in real life!).
For example, “My friend and me are going to lunch” is rewritten as “me am going to lunch.” See the problem?
More examples:
- I met with your team last week.
- She is more responsible than I.
- He and I split the bill.
What about me?
Unlike “I,” the pronoun “me” is the object of a sentence. “Me” is used when receiving an action.
Your team met with me last week.
In this sentence, the subject is “your team” and is doing the action of meeting. “Me” is receiving the action of being met with.
More examples:
- If you have any questions, please contact me.
- You can find me in the library.
- Nobody knows me better than my mom.
I’ll do it myself!
“Myself” is not used as often as “me “or “I,” but it gets misused much more. The biggest rule to follow is myself is not a fancier replacement for me. If you use “myself,” the subject of the verb must be I.
When used correctly, “myself” has two forms: an emphatic pronoun or a reflexive pronoun. First, an emphatic pronoun is exactly what it sounds like – it puts emphasis on someone in a sentence.
I changed the car tire myself.
I’m putting emphasis on the fact that this tire change was all me.
More examples:
- I’ll find out for myself.
- If I want something done correctly, I have to do it myself.
- I saw it myself – a real Bigfoot track!
Myself can also be used as a reflexive pronoun, which basically means I am both doing the action and receiving the action.
I burned myself while pouring coffee.
In this sentence, I am both doing the action (I burned) and the action is also happening to me (burned myself).
More examples:
- I’m all by myself today.
- I talk to myself when I’m alone.
- I went by myself to the DMV.
Quiz time!
Now that I’ve broken it down, which one of these sentences is correct?
- Chris K sent an email to Sarah and me.
- Chris K sent an email to Sarah and I.
- Chris K sent an email to Sarah and myself.
(Scroll down a bit to see the answer.)
If you answered No. 1, you are right! That’s because Chris K is the subject of the sentence and “Sarah and me” is the object. Chris K is the one doing the action (sending an email) and “Sarah and me” is receiving the action.
No. 2 is wrong because “I” is never an object. It can only be a subject.
No. 3 is wrong because while “myself” is a pronoun and sounds nice, it can only be used as an emphatic or reflexive pronoun. “Myself” is not being emphasized and Chris K can’t reflect on “myself” because those are two different people!
Me, myself and I.
Sometimes things that sound right or are acceptable in casual conversations aren’t correct for professional writing. But now that you read this blog, you can trust yourself to use me, myself and I correctly.
Now I am going to give myself a round of applause.
Don’t be sad. We’ll be back on the first Monday next month with a new blog post. If you can’t wait that long – whether because you have a topic you’d love us to cover, a question or you simply want to throw your two cents into the pot – we love talkin’ shop, so drop us a line.
