We all could use a little review of me, myself and I once in awhile. This article from Dina Giolitto “Credibility Thieves in Your Web Copy, A.k.a. Grammatical Goofs and Punctuation Flubs” is an excellent refresher.
In the article, Giolitto explains that “myself” is a reflexive pronoun that should reflect back to “I” as the subject of the sentence. Remind you of diagramming sentences in middle school? These examples should help:
WRONG: I have excluded me from the running.
RIGHT: I have excluded myself from the running.
To reiterate, myself goes with I.
“I” is usually the subject of the sentence. The most common way it is misused is when “I” paired with another noun.
Giolitto’s Tip: take away the second part of the subject and see if it makes sense:
WRONG: John and me walked to school again this morning. (Me walked to school? No.)
RIGHT: John and I walked to school again this morning. (I walked to school. Yes.)
Her tip of checking to see if the second part of the sentence makes sense works just as well when “Me” is used as the object of a preposition or verb.
WRONG: Are you walking to school with John and I? (Are you walking to school with I? No.)
RIGHT: Are you walking to school with John and me? (Are you walking to school with me? Yes.)
Feel better about using me, myself and I, now?
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