Jun 16 2012
It’s All About “Me.”
No, not me. The word “me.”
Apparently, it strikes fear in the hearts of many. For example: “Betsy called Bob and I.” Would you say “Betsy called I”? Of course not. It’s “Betsy called Bob and me.”
It’s helpful to put each action in its own sentence: “Betsy called Bob.” “Betsy called me.” Thus, “Betsy called Bob and me.”
And then there’s the irksome misuse of myself. “I was hoping you would collaborate with Mary and myself.”
“Myself” is only used when you do something to yourself: “I burned myself while frying bacon.” It would never be “Mary burned MYSELF with a branding iron,” for any number of reasons (grammar, as well as Mary’s psychotic behavior). So the correct construction would be “I was hoping you would collaborate with Mary and me.” Again, think of it in segments: “I was hoping you could collaborate with me.” It sounds wrong when you say “I was hoping you would collaborate with myself.” It sounds wrong because it is wrong.
And don’t get me started on whom…
