Sometimes the best edit is a rewrite
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
editing, ESL, pronoun/noun order, pronouns
Which is correct?
I’d like to offer __________ to manage the project.
a. myself and Bob
b. Bob and myself
c. neither of the above
Answer: c.
Explanation:
Site director Margaret Rouse (@WhatIsDotCom) offered this question from her voluminous inbox. Names and details have been changed to protect the guilty, but the sentence is similar. It’s awkward! Not really incorrect, but unless you have to cleave to the original sentence structure, it’s better to simplify and improve.
Here’s what Peggy suggests: “I’d like to manage the project with Bob.” That’s better — clear and straightforward.
If we were, for some reason, constrained to keep the sentence as close as possible to the original, b. would be the correct choice because that’s the correct pronoun order. (See more about pronoun order here.)
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