Lately I’ve noticed that people mix up the pronouns “I” and “myself” quite a bit. Specifically, they use “myself” when they should be using “I.” If you’re confused about the difference between the two, here’s a little refresher:

I is used when you are the subject of a sentence:

• I am writing this blog post to help people with grammar.
• I hope this blog post is helpful to anyone who is confused about grammar.
• My friend Gloria and I love grammar.

Myself is used in two cases. The first is when you are the subject of the sentence and also refer to yourself in another part of the sentence:

• I wrote this blog post by myself.
• I don’t feel like myself if I don’t blog regularly about grammar.
• I gave myself a mental high-five for writing a helpful blog post about grammar. 

Myself is also used for extra emphasis when you are the subject of the sentence

• I myself will stand up for good grammar.
• Myself a big fan of grammar, I enjoy writing posts like this one.

People usually use “myself” incorrectly only when there are multiple people mentioned in a sentence. Removing the others should make it clear that you should be using “I” instead. For example:

• Gloria, David and myself are going to the grammar conference. (INCORRECT)

Remove Gloria and David from the equation, and it becomes obvious why the above is incorrect:

• Myself is going to the grammar conference. (INCORRECT)
• I am going to the grammar conference. (CORRECT) 

Add Gloria and David back in to the correct answer above, and you have this: 

• Gloria, David and I are going to the grammar conference (CORRECT)

When in doubt, strip the sentence down to the basics to find the answer. 

-Maria

Maria Murnane writes bestselling novels about life, love and friendship. Have questions? You can find her at www.mariamurnane.com.