Stop saying 'myself and...'

Can I add my pet hate? "Can I get a flat white?" No you moron, the barista will get it for you!

@ColleenDonaghy , the managers probably won't know.
In @TheShellBeach 's post it was a BT operative saying it, and it irritated her. it therefore affected the operative's ability to do the job, so it does matter.

@YouOKHun - interesting you say that about school. I went to a grammar school in the 70s and I have a clear memory of my mum explaining to me - when I was about 12 - what nouns, verbs etc were because I'd never been taught that at school.

Does it matter if they never know? We all have gaps in our general knowledge. A BT engineer isn't writing formal letters, and if they are then their line manager or colleagues can correct them.

Don't get me started on "I was laying in bed" - no, you weren't (unless you were a hen). See also "the body was discovered laying on its side" - no, it bloody well wasn't.

Another pet peeve of mine is "with regards to" and "in regards to". You're not sending greetings - you're referencing something.

I shout at the telly when I hear someone uttering these verbal atrocities.

And to whoever asked me if I really corrected the grammar of the BT operative who asked me if something was acceptable to myself - yes, I did. She cold-called me and tried to sell me something that I didn't need or want, and refused to admit that her call was essentially a sales opportunity.

So I gave it to her with both barrels.

Hate it. Used by people who want to make themselves sound important and sophisticated. No, you sound silly, pompous and ignorant.

I don't usually care about other people's grammar but this one annoys me, purely because it's so pretentious.

It’s no use saying anything on here. Ditto with e.g. lose/loose - the people who make such basic mistakes are never going to take any notice. 🙁

@KVick School was a very long time ago for me, and maybe I missed the lessons but I do not recall any formal grammar teaching in my state school in the 70s and 80s. It was possible to pass O Level English Lit and Lang without really understanding grammar or punctuation. In fact I got A grades in both and A at A Level too, despite any correct grammar and punctuation being a happy accident. It was only when I went to work for a former Mirror editor that I learned about the structure and rules behind what I’d written. I was probably saved by the fact I read a lot which perhaps gives one an ear for something that doesn’t sound right.

Misuse of the reflexive pronoun is jarring but I hadn’t noticed that it’s more prevalent now. I remember it being a faux sophistication years ago. Perhaps I’ve been too busy stamping out use of the word “like” and overuse of “so” to notice.

My other pet hate is “I was stood/sat there”. Just why? Sixth word out of the winning Labour candidate’s mouth this morning: ‘I am delighted to be stood here’… Just NO! I couldn’t bear to
listen after that.

It really annoys me too. I'd never correct anyone, but I also inwardly cringe when someone says it.

I confess to only learning what a noun and a verb was when I started learning a foreign language at school. My school friends and I (!) have discussed this in the past, in that we're obviously a generation of children that were never taught was a preposition was, etc. I generally know what is right and wrong, but not what the terminology is.

It used to really, really grind on me, but since meeting my DH I have chilled out quite a lot, otherwise we'd be divorced by now and, other than his terrible grammar, I actually like him quite a lot!

He does, however, use "have" instead of "of", thank goodness. We might not have been able to make it past that otherwise! 😂

I joined this thread to bemoan the fact that even BBC news is abusing the reflexive pronoun but someone has already beaten me too it!

I'm a partner in a law firm and our (very bright and academic) trainees almost all do it! It looks particularly awful in a formal letter. I keep trying, I explain the rule and how it is used, I warn them that they are at risk of sounding like junior estate agents but I'm fighting a losing battle.

Many people are convinced that this is the more "proper" way to speak and that saying "me" or "I" looks too casual or slovenly. Yet the opposite is true!

<screams into the abyss>

Myself finds nothing wrong with it. Yourself should give yourself's head a wobble.

Perhaps it's a nickname and should have a capital letter. Would it then be 'Himself and I.....'?

I mean it winds me up but I can't imagine that most people really care. It's incredibly rude to correct someone's grammar when they haven't asked you to, IMO.

Misuse of reflexive pronouns shows lack of knowledge, not formality, although the user might think it's the latter.

As to 'me or I?' you simply remove all the other people, whether it's one or fifty, and say exactly the same thing: 'Do you want to come to the pub with Sam, Jo, Esme, Bill ....and me/I?' - get rid of all those people and decide if you'd say 'Do you want to come to the pub with I?' or 'Do you want .... with me?' That's it. Simple.

As for 'myself and my colleagues' etc - what happened to the polite convention of putting others first? I suspect use of the reflexive pronoun in such cases is so the user can circumvent that, they think it's better than say 'I and my colleagues...' which sounds regal.

I agree it's probably going to be construed as rude, and I wouldn't do it (unless it's a close family member when it's my civic duty to remind them so they don't offend others), but on the other hand, if no one ever tells people it's wrong, how will they know?

Please tell me you didn't actually and this is just a fantasy? Because actually correcting someone's grammar in the course of normal conversation is breathtakingly rude.

It's becoming an epidemic.

Loads of 'yourself' in The Traitors this year.

'I'm voting for yourself, Paul'

I follow someone on Instagram whose name is (something like) “Me, My Goals and I” and it makes me wince every time she posts something.

Good point
I was thinking more general points rather than people in very difficult circumstances. No i wouldn't point this one out.
But MN is littered with myself and yourself in lots of posts.

Why stop there, why not "I am"? Language changes naturally over the years. What would the Brontes say about Orwell's prose? Likewise what would Orwell think of J.K. Rowling?

A family member refers to her live in partner as himself

"I was waiting to leave for the dog walk when himself decided to organise the sock drawer"

Is that a weird regional thing?

Well if you ask myself it depends, for example:

OP: I think my dh is having an affair, we have 2 under 2 and I’m pregnant, he’s always finding fault with myself and we argue all the time, should I LTB?

Reply: I’m afraid your use of myself is grammatically incorrect there

Because standards at the BBC are slipping, sadly.