Kids are often afraid to use the words ‘me’ and ‘I’, as they get them the wrong way around. So what do they do? They substitute me and I with ‘myself’, making the grammar mistakes a whole lot worse.
Here are some hard and fast rules for how to use me, myself and I – and how not to use them.
Use I for the subject
I is used when the subject of a sentence.
I like to paint pretty flower.
I walk the dog every day.
I love to cook using new recipes.
Use me for the object
Me is used when the object of a sentence.
He gave the flowers to me.
She knew how to make me happy.
The teacher gave me my homework.
When do we get confused over I or me?
In simple sentences, most kids don’t have a problem with using I or me. It’s when there’s someone else in the sentence that the confusion arises.
Jake and I like to paint pretty flowers. – correct
Jake and me like to paint pretty flowers. – incorrect
He gave the flowers to Sue and me. – correct
He gave the flowers to Sue and I. – incorrect
Hint - The easiest way to work out whether to use I or me, is to remove the other person from the sentence and then see if the sentence still reads correctly.
Myself: the complicating factor
Myself is a reflexive pronoun and is used to refer back to the subject of a sentence – basically referring back to I.
For example: I gave myself flowers for my birthday.
You would never use myself to substitute for I or me.
For example: Please email this to myself. – incorrect
Please contact myself. – incorrect
<Hint – you use regular object pronouns when the subject and object are different, and the reflexive pronoun when they are the same.
He gave the flowers to Sue and me. – correct
I gave myself flowers for my birthday. – correct
Myself is also an Intensive Pronoun
Reflexive pronouns are also used to add emphasis, or intensity, to a sentence. This is called an intensive pronoun.
For example: I myself don’t like woodworking classes. – correct
I knitted it all by myself. - correct
