Me, Myself, and I
De La Soul “Me, Myself and I”
I myself have long been fuzzy on the proper use of the word “myself.”
Maybe you are, too. Let’s figure it out together…
Myself is pretty straightforward as a reflexive pronoun:
I’m going to write myself a note so I don’t forget.
And easy when used for emphasis:
I myself have trouble remembering the rule.
But the confusion seems to set in when we have a compound subject – that is, when “I” am joined by someone else. For example, tell me if you think these two sentences are correct:
John and myself will join you in a minute.
The sommelier brought wine for Jane and myself.
You hesitated there for a second, didn’t you? Both kinda sound right, and even have an air of high society, as if uttered by the Duke of York. However, both are considered ungrammatical, and just a simple “I” or “me” will do:
John and I will join you in a minute.
The sommelier brought wine for Jane and me.
If you’re ever in doubt, there’s a simple test you can use to determine the correct usage for a compound subject like John and I. You may remember this trick from elementary school – simply drop the second subject and see what you’re left with, and all should be illuminated.
If you drop John from the first test sentence, you’ve got Myself will join you in a minute. Yikes — somebody please start that sentence with an “I”.
Taking Jane out of the second test sentence leaves you with The sommelier brought wine for myself. Yeah, no — that wine is just for “me”.