Me, Myself and I

[niadainud]

For the love of Lindley Murray, please can people stop using "myself" and "I" when they actually mean "me"?

"Myself and DP..." is never correct (at least I can't think of an example when it would be correct to begin a sentence in this way) and just sounds pretentious. "Myself" is a reflexive pronoun, or used for emphasis: "I hurt myself" or "I wouldn't do it like that myself".

"I" is for when you are the subject of the sentence (i.e. you are the one doing it): for example, "DP and I like to go dogging at the weekend."

"He came dogging with my DP and I" is wrong as "I" is being erroneously used as an object pronoun in that example.

In short, "me" is not a dirty word, even if "dogging" is.

Sorry, I know some people hate grammar threads that stray outside Pedants' Corner and I fully expect to be jumped on for any minor solecism I may have inadvertently committed, but I'm running out of patience with this one.

Oh, and while I'm at it, you're most probably "lying", not "laying", unless you are some sort of bird.

You probably want to move this to Pedants’ Corner. You’ll get a lot of bite there

Oh my goodness. Myself should only be used in the reflexive or emphatic.

Many years ago I worked in a company where the CEO always said it. So everyone else said it. Nobody ever said me! Company culture 'gorn mad'!

I had to leave.

Yes this drives me crazy. It's really increased in job applications and the interviews I do.

You're probably right, but most people there already know how to use "myself"!

I was really surprised to hear it used incorrectly recently by someone who has a languages degree from Cambridge.

Yesssss!!!! It just makes you sound stupid. Not clever. Like you think it does. THANK YOU OP 🙌🙌

I think you'll find quite enough responses on here.

With you 100% OP. I've had the misfortune of reading on school staff room notice boards "Please see Mrs Bloggs or I about Esmeralda" more times than I care to remember.
Teachers eh?!

I really enjoyed reading that op.

One of the worst I've heard is, "Please come to Fiona and I's exhibition." Made me wince.

Thank you, OP.

I say 'meself' OP. How does that make you feel?

Yeah, op, with love, unless you’re posting this kind of stuff in pedants’ corner, prepare to have your SPAG torn apart. I could start if you like.

It’s used a lot by grifters influencers I’ve noticed. Maybe they think it makes ‘themselves’ sound more credible.

It depends how you use it, I guess, but I don't have any issue with accents. Where are you from?

I dislike the incorrect use of “myself” when people are trying to sound “formal” - it’s very Estate Agent. And I agree with you that people are afraid to say “me”.

However I am warning you now that these threads inevitably entail at least one Irish person explaining that “myself” in a non-reflexive usage is very standard Hiberno-English (see also they way Irish people use “yourself”). It’s a fair point and rude to accuse them of speaking incorrectly.

Whereas they actually sound like an adolescent estate agent.

Knock yourself out.

It is indeed a fair point.

It's not up to me to declare what's acceptable in another dialect, obviously, but I don't think the Hiberno-English usage conveys the same degree of pomposity as what I'm describing.

I was really surprised to hear it used incorrectly recently by someone who has a languages degree from Cambridge.

It's not surprising that people pick up on how others say things.

I guess, but I wouldn't suddenly start saying "would of" or "I done" or "I had ran", no matter how many times I heard other people say them.

I really can't be arsed (watching football) and I'm prepared to let you off for using “solecism”. 😘

Let me off with what, exactly?

I agree. I’m also laughing at your examples!

My husband says myself in a blackboard scrapingly awful way.
“Would you like to join myself on the trip?”
”It will be myself coming to the party.”
”Who ate the pies? That would be myself.”
He DOESN’T BELIEVE ME that it is better to use “me” and thinks it sounds very courteous and formal.

Yes, but you aren't everyone. People do mimic what they hear.