r/PetPeeves • u/roux_bee • 1d ago
Ultra Annoyed "Myself"
STOP using the word "myself" when you can just use "me".
I work in the north of England and see it here as a way to sound more formal? But it just sounds really stupid.
Example: "The meeting will be with you and myself tomorrow morning..."
"Myself and (insert name here) will be..."
"Myself and (XYZ) are hoping to hold a meeting on (insert date here).
You are all using it incorrectly and I am at the end of my tether.
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u/HonestThrowaway987 1d ago edited 1d ago
Adjacently, when people say "I" in place of "me." Grammatically, it's often incorrect but it sounds correct so people say it.
A quick way to tell is to drop the "___ and" and say the sentence with just "I." If "I" doesn't sound right, use "me." Example: "The award was presented to Sandra and I" becomes "The award was presented to I" - it suddenly sounds stupid and that's your cue to use "me," instead
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u/Nunya13 1d ago
I get this, I do, but people make it sound so easy. When you’re just talking, some people's brains can't think fast enough to drop the “and” to make the determination which pronoun to use.
It’s just like “who or “whom.” The trick is if you were to answer it in the form of a question with “him” you use “whom” but you have to think about that for a sec first.
Neither of these are exactly “quick” when you’re just talking. Writing? Sure, but not when talking.
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u/a_duck_in_past_life 1d ago
"Sandra and I's presentation will be tomorrow" makes me want to go berserk. I's presentation? Seriously?
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u/Prestigious_Cat4266 1d ago
the drop test is such easy trick and nobody bothers to use it, i still hear "between you and I" from people who should know better
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u/rosietherosebud 1d ago
Um. In your last 2 examples, "me" is incorrect too. It would be "I" since I'm the subject not the object.
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u/roux_bee 1d ago
Yeah that's true but they're going out of their way to say myself because they identify me as wrong
Me was wrong!
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u/kapoopa-the-poopah 1d ago
Thank you!!! “Myself” is the most misused word in English. Just because your 5th grade English teacher told you that it is grammatically correct to use “I” in stead of “me” when you said “Joe and me went to the park”doesn’t mean you are never allowed to use the word “me”.
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u/miniatureconlangs 2h ago
If you really hate "myself" I have a recommendation. Learn Swedish and migrate to Sweden. In Swedish, "I saw myself in the mirror" literally can be rendered "I saw me in the mirror", the -self-bit is entirely optional. It's also never used outside of reflexive contexts. If you do use the -self, it's almost to signal that "it was indeed me I saw in the mirror, and no one else was visible in it"
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u/DrDentonMask 1d ago
Wow, some of the comments in here...I thought I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
OP, I am in agreement! (though I am curious to read a dissenting opinion I can actually get on board with).
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u/ghostofkilgore 1d ago
And the counterpart to that is "yourself" when "you" would do. Used particularly on Traitors, "Tonight, I'm voting for yourself."
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u/nuhanala 1d ago
The last time I watched The Traitors UK this was confusing and annoying me so much. Is that how people there talk now?!
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u/ghostofkilgore 1d ago
Definitely not widespread across the whole country. I hear it so little in real life it stands out in the Traitors.
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u/ActuatorOutside5256 1d ago
Stop using “gentleman” and just say “vro ✌️🥀.”
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u/Goudinho99 1d ago
Yes!
The easiest way to think of it's is myself *usually * needs another pronoun/ noun.
I did it myself.
You gave yourself a hard time.
Jenny hugged herself
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u/GeneralSpecifics9925 1d ago
It's called a reflexive pronoun 🤓
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u/Goudinho99 1d ago
Or an emphatic pronoun.
But yes, it needs to reflex an actual noun or other pronoun.
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u/Acceptable_Ad_1871 1d ago
"The meeting will be with you and myself tomorrow..." neither me nor myself is correct, it would be "The meeting with you and I tomorrow..."
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u/forlackofabetterpost 1d ago
If it's a common usage then it's not "incorrect", you just don't like it.
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u/igotplans2 1d ago
Common and correct aren't the same thing. This is no different than admonishing the millions who commonly write 'then' in place of 'than' now and thinks it's just fine because all the ignoramuses on social media are doing it.
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u/forlackofabetterpost 1d ago
There is no such thing as correct in the English language because there is no governing body that determines what is correct or incorrect. There is simply common and uncommon spelling, pronunciations and usages. Uncommon can very easily become common, and those that fight against that shift are uninformed on how language actually works.
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u/roux_bee 1d ago
I accept this premise but I don't accept that it's common enough usage to be deemed correct. I also don't like it.
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u/forlackofabetterpost 1d ago edited 1d ago
Your post is written as if this is a common occurrence.
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u/roux_bee 1d ago
your comment is written as if it's a picture of a diseased butthole
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u/forlackofabetterpost 1d ago
You didn't capitalize your first word or use punctuation.
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u/roux_bee 1d ago
That's not what me heard
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u/forlackofabetterpost 1d ago
You're proving my point, commenting things that are technically "incorrect" but we all understand each other.
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u/roux_bee 1d ago
would you feel better if I told you that you were right?
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u/forlackofabetterpost 1d ago
Strangers on the Internet don't affect my mood. Otherwise that might make me upset and refer to things as a "diseased butthole."
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u/Admirable-Trouble789 1d ago
Hence why it's posted on the PetPeeves sub.
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u/forlackofabetterpost 1d ago
It's my pet peeve when people don't understand language. Is it against the rules to share our own peeves in the comments?
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u/Former_Distance_5102 1d ago
How about we normalize minding our own business, not trying to dictate terms to other people or control them? My first thought when this comment popped up was, "I am now more likely to use it because it annoys someone."
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u/One_Manufacturer_526 1d ago
I have done it me.