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Me, myself, I — which is correct?

Posted by: Ivy Wigmore

CIO, me/myself/I, first person singular, pronouns, grammar, Business writing, Quiz

Which is correct?
I requested copies of the marketing report for other team members and ____.
a. me
b. myself
c. I

Answer: b

Explanation:
Here you have it — the ONLY way you can correctly refer to yourself AS “yourself” — reflexivey:

Use the old trick of taking the other person out of the equation:

I requested a copy of the report for myself. (You wouldn’t say “I requested a copy of the report for me” or “I requested a copy of the report for I,” right?)

It’s reflexive because the subject (I) is the same person as the object (myself).

It works the same way as:

I embarrassed myself.

I treated myself.

I hurt myself.

I overextended myself.

I convinced myself.

Only I can do anything to “myself,” grammatically speaking. No one else can call “myself.” Likewise, no one can do anything along with “myself.” Although it may sound harsh, you and myself are incapable of conducting any kind of business. “You and I,” on the other hand, might make the cover of Forbes — and be grammatically correct in interview to boot.

See more about first person pronoun errors here.