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AIBU?

Myself and yourself instead of me and you

135 replies

WanderingNotLost · 07/12/2015 11:22

This is something that just pisses me off to no end.

People saying myself and yourself instead of me and you.

Example: We need someone do speak on Tuesday, Steve has suggested yourself.

We have previously sold photocopiers to yourself.

No no no no no!!

Why do people do this? Is it just ignorance? I've found sales people are particularly guilty of this heinous crime. It just grates on me, I always want to correct them. AIBU?

See also: the misplaced apostrophe.

OP posts:

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DawnOfTheDoggers · 07/12/2015 11:24

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NewLife4Me · 07/12/2015 11:24

You're one to talk about mistakes.

do speak?

YABU, don't sweat the small stuff.

Thaisa · 07/12/2015 11:27

Apparently, people are told to say it. My daughter got into trouble in her place of work for saying 'you' and 'me' on the phone rather than 'yourself' and 'myself'.

She tried arguing that it was wrong but her supervisor wasn't having it.

munkisocks · 07/12/2015 11:28

I've learned something new as I'm guilty of doing this lol

ovenchips · 07/12/2015 11:28

YANBU. Drives me mad too. IMHO when people do it is mainly in misplaced belief that it's somehow politer/ less direct/ more formal than a straight up 'you' or 'me'.

Marmite27 · 07/12/2015 11:28

Hate this!

In my case it's people trying to sound more intelligent. No, just no.

Egosumquisum · 07/12/2015 11:30

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WanderingNotLost · 07/12/2015 11:31

NewLife4Me that's just a typo, not a habitual butchering of English grammar.

OP posts:

Daisysbear · 07/12/2015 11:31

I live in Ireland and it's perfectly normal to say 'myself and my sister went shopping' or 'you can go yourself, can't you' or somesuch.

But I remember being sneered at on here for using that turn of phrase and accused of 'trying to be posh' 'sound clever' etc.
People can be very ignorant and insular.

alltouchedout · 07/12/2015 11:32

I fucking hate it. I think I hate it more than 'by close of play', which is a phrase guaranteed to make me fantasise about gouging out the speaker's eyeballs.

IShouldBeSoLurky · 07/12/2015 11:33

Ego you've actually used it correctly as in, "Speak for yourself." Nothing wrong with that. The other uses are wrong.

Egosumquisum · 07/12/2015 11:33

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NewLife4Me · 07/12/2015 11:34

Yes, but doesn't that show you that everybody makes mistakes.
Not everybody has had a good education in terms of English grammar, the same as you make a mistake.

It is common place in the gypsy communities I know and very prevalent in the north.
I don't think people are trying to be particularly intelligent, it's just what they consider normal.

I'm one that doesn't bat an eye.

redexpat · 07/12/2015 11:36

YANBU. And for the record, I think not a habitual butchering of English grammar is the most eloquent phrase I've seen on MN in a long time!

Daisysbear · 07/12/2015 11:36

Even where people have a good education, if it's a common turn of phrase in their home county/country then they will automatically use it.
Where I come from saying 'my sister and I went into town' would be considered a 'posh' way of speaking, regardless of your education. It would be 'myself and my sister'

Daisysbear · 07/12/2015 11:38

When I say 'posh', I mean 'put on - posh'. Whereas if we heard it said with an English accent we'd just accept it as an English way of saying it.

Egosumquisum · 07/12/2015 11:39

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Scholes34 · 07/12/2015 11:39

Or rather, "Me and my sister".

MaisieDotes · 07/12/2015 11:39

I'm in Ireland too and it's quite common, it's a direct translation of the way it is said in Irish.

How's yourself this weather, daisy ?

Although I agree that it's ridiculous when it's used to impart formality.

WanderingNotLost · 07/12/2015 11:41

This is lighthearted, just saw an erroneous 'yourself' in an email and it's set me right off- thought I'd see if anyone else felt the same!

OP posts:

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 07/12/2015 11:42

The one that drives me nuts is people who say 'for you and I'. It happens on Masterchef all the time - 'today you are cooking for Gregg and I'. No, no, no, no! Nobody would say 'You are cooking for I' in standard English. Yet somehow when they put in another person's name plus 'and' in front of 'me', 'me' turns into 'I'.

Presumably it's because they've learned that it's grammatically wrong to say things like 'Gregg and me are judging today' but haven't understood why that's different from 'You are cooking for Gregg and me'.

KERALA1 · 07/12/2015 11:44

Weirdly if someone said it in an Irish accent it would be fine!

But yes, like OP, I cringe for the speaker. Almost always said by people selling you stuff/giving you official information and makes me assume the speaker is badly educated. Sorry. Wouldn't say anything but that is what I would think!

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Daisysbear · 07/12/2015 11:44

Is it yourself, Maisie? I haven't seen you in ages.

Egosumquisum · 07/12/2015 11:44

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hillbilly · 07/12/2015 11:47

It is so much more common to hear it these days. I hate it.

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