There are several words to use when speaking in the first person and talking about yourself, such as “me,” “myself,” and “I.” But how do we use these words — namely, the trickiest one: “myself”? Myself is a reflexive pronoun, and it can be challenging to know whether you are using it correctly, so is “and myself” a grammatically correct phrase?
You should only use “and myself” when your subject is “I” and you include yourself as one of multiple objects. You can only use “myself” when speaking from the first-person point of view, and using “myself” when the subject is not “I” results in an error grammarians call the “untriggered reflexive.”
To learn what “and myself” means and how you can use it correctly, continue reading below.
Is It Grammatically Correct to Say “and Myself”?
You can use the word pairing “and myself” in a grammatically correct sentence, but only when the sentence’s subject is “I” and the first-person pronoun “myself” is part of a compound object. In other words, you can use “and myself” correctly when you are speaking in the first person.
Additionally, because “and” is a conjunction, a word that joins together a group of words (source), your sentence must contain multiple objects.
Here is an example of a grammatically correct sentence that contains “and myself”:
- I bought two tickets to the basketball game for William and myself.
Also, while it might be tempting to use “myself” or the word pairing “and myself” instead of “me” when the subject is not “I,” you should avoid this error, which we’ll discuss in detail later (source).
What Does “and Myself” Mean?
In summary, “and myself” is a combination of conjunction and reflexive pronoun that you can use to refer to yourself as an object in your own sentence.
As we mentioned previously, “and” is a conjunction, which means we use it to join words or groups of words (source).
“Myself” is a definite pronoun that a speaker would use to refer to himself or herself” (source). A pronoun is a word that refers to a noun someone has made clear in an earlier context. Refer to this article, “Its or Their: When to Use Each Possessive Pronoun,” to learn more about using pronouns.
In this case, “myself” is a reflexive pronoun that serves as an object and refers to the subject of the sentence reflexively — namely, the first-person subject, “I.”
However, in addition to being a reflexive pronoun, you can also use the word “myself” as an intensive pronoun (source). We use intensive pronouns to emphasize the subject. For example, we might say, “I myself prefer guacamole over salsa” or “I made the guacamole myself.”
However, there is no way to use “and myself” correctly intensively.
How Do You Use “and Myself”?
You can use “and myself” as part of a compound object, whether as a direct object, indirect object, or object of the preposition. In each case, it must point back to the subject “I.”
When you are using a reflexive pronoun correctly, you cannot remove it from the sentence without creating an incorrect or incomplete sentence. If you are unsure whether you’re using “myself” correct, removing it from the sentence is a good test.
When Can You Use “and Myself”?
You should use “and myself” as part of a set of objects when you are both the subject and one of the objects of your own sentence.
Here is a summary of the criteria to correctly use “and myself” in a sentence:
First, the subject of the sentence is “I,” which means you are speaking or writing from the first-person point of view.
Second, you are referring to yourself as both the subject and object of the sentence, the subject being “I” and the object being “myself.”
Third, you are joining multiple objects with the conjunction “and.”
Another question to consider is whether switching the order of the objects, putting “myself” first in the list of objects, would be more accurate. However, as long as the meaning of the sentence is clear, the order of the objects does not matter. In fact, some may argue that putting myself last is a more polite way of writing or speaking (source).
Can We Use “I” and “Myself” Together?
We can use “I” and “myself” together in the same sentence when “I” is the subject and “myself” is the object. Additionally, we can use “myself” as an intensive pronoun with “I,” as in “I myself love movies.”
The pronouns “I” and “myself” are both words you can use to refer to yourself when speaking or writing in the first person.
However, it is not grammatically correct to use “myself” as the subject, nor is it grammatically correct to use “I” as an object. You can learn more about subject and object pronouns in “You and I or You and Me: Understanding the Correct Use of these Pronouns.”
Therefore, you would not pair “I” and “myself” as objects together in the same sentence. For example, the sentence “I bought a ticket to the basketball game for I and myself” does not make sense.
Using “and Myself” in a Full Sentence
Although there are few scenarios where you can correctly use “and myself,” there are numerous potential sentences and combinations of clauses, verbs, and direct and indirect objects that you can make.
Placement Within the Sentence
When using “and myself” in a basic sentence, you would likely place it at the end of the sentence or clause. The following is an example of a correct sentence ending with “and myself”:
- I bought lunch for Julie and myself.
To test whether the sentence is grammatically correct, remove “Julie and.” The remaining sentence would be “I bought lunch for myself,” which is still correct.
This next example is of a correct sentence containing “and myself” at the end of a clause, but not at the end of the sentence:
- I bought lunch for Julie and myself, and then she paid for dessert.
As a Direct Object
You might notice when pairing “myself” with a verb that there are several different types of pairings. The first is using the object “myself” with another object as the verb’s compound direct object. For example:
- I paid Leslie and myself.
In this sentence, the objects “Leslie and myself” directly receive the action of the verb “paid.”
As an Indirect Object
The second pairing is when another object directly receives the verb’s action instead of “myself.” For example:
- I made Leslie and myself dinner.
In this case, “dinner” is the direct object that directly receives the action of the verb “made.” “Leslie and myself” are indirect objects: They indirectly receive the action of the verb because they will eat the dinner someone made.
As the Object of a Preposition
The third pairing is when “myself” is the object following a preposition. For example:
- I bought dinner for Leslie and myself.
Acting similarly to the previous pairing, “dinner” is the direct object, receiving the action of the verb “bought.” “Leslie and myself” are indirect objects following a preposition. The prepositions act to make it more clear who the dinner is for.
In What Context Can You Use “and Myself”?
Most often, you will use “and myself” when you are speaking in the first person about a pair or group of people. Here is an example:
I made dinner and dessert for my wife and myself.
There may be a few scenarios where you’d combine “myself” with another object that is not a person, but these will likely be less common because the context in which this would occur would be less common. Here is a sentence example with a person and another living object:
I went to the grocery store and bought food for my cat and myself.
Even less common would be a sentence where someone pairs “myself” in a set of objects with inanimate objects. There are probably not many situations where you’ll see this combination. However, this is not impossible and can still be correct. Here’s one grammatically correct example:
To get work done, I need to remove distractions by being in my office with only my laptop and myself.
No matter the pairing of objects, you can almost always be sure the usage of “and myself” is correct if the subject of the sentence is “I.”
When Not to Use “and Myself”
You should not use “and myself” when your subject is not “I,” and you should never attempt to use it as part of a compound subject.
Below, we’ve described these instances in greater detail so that you can be sure to avoid them in the future.
As an Untriggered Reflexive
The word “myself” does seem fancier than “me,” so it can be tempting to use this word to try to sound more formal and avoid less educated speech (source). However, grammarians refer to using a reflexive pronoun when it is unnecessary as an untriggered reflexive.
Here is an example of using “myself” as an untriggered reflexive to make your sentence sound more formal:
- The latest newsletter was edited by myself.
The subject of the sentence above is not “I,” so instead, the correct version of this sentence should be:
- The latest version of the newsletter was edited by me.
Subsequently, this same policy applies to the phrase “and myself.” Here is an example of using the phrase “and myself” as an incorrect untriggered reflexive:
- Sheila bought lunch for Julie and myself.
If you remove “Julie and,” the remaining sentence would be “Sheila bought lunch for myself.” That sentence is incorrect because the subject of the sentence is “Sheila,” which is in the third person (source).
Instead, the correct version of this sentence would use the first-person objective pronoun “me”: “Sheila bought lunch for Julie and me.”
As the Subject
We do not use “myself” as the subject of a sentence, only as an object. For example, It would be incorrect to say:
- Allen and myself do not like spicy foods.
If you remove “Allen,” the sentence would say, “Myself do not like spicy foods,” which is clearly incorrect. The correct way to say this would be, “Allen and I do not like spicy foods.”
The only instance where you might see “myself” near the subject is when someone pairs it with “I” as an intensive pronoun, a usage we’ve mentioned previously and one that doesn’t use a conjunction. For example:
- Landon likes spicy foods. I myself prefer milder flavors.
When it functions in this way, “myself” is not necessarily part of the subject but, rather, complements or describes the subject.
What Can You Use Instead of “and Myself”?
When the subject and object are not the same, you should replace “And myself” with “And me.”
Incorrect: Kelsey, being a polite guest, brought gifts for Maddie and myself.
Correct: Kelsey, being a polite guest, brought gifts for Maddie and me.
Is It Correct to Say “and Yourself”?
Similar to “myself,” it is correct to say “and yourself” reflexively, but only when the subject of the sentence is “you,” and “yourself” is one of multiple objects.
“Yourself” works the same way as “myself” but from the second-person point of view where both the subject and object are “you,” and “yourself” acts as a reflexive pronoun.
- You should order lunch for Sheila and yourself.
If you remove the object “Sheila,” “You should order lunch for yourself” is still a grammatically correct sentence.
Subsequently, “and yourself” is not grammatically correct when we pair it with a subject other than “you.”
For example, “Julie should order lunch for Sheila and yourself” is not correct. Instead, a correct sentence would be, “Julie should order lunch for you and Sheila.”
Reflexive Pronouns
In addition to “myself” and “yourself,” other examples of reflexive pronouns include “himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “ourselves,” “yourselves,” and “themselves.” Like “I” and “myself,” we use reflexive pronouns when the subject and object refer to the same person or thing (source).
For example, here is a correct sentence using “and himself”:
- Anthony ordered smoothies for Samantha and himself
This sentence is correct because the subject is Anthony, and the action, ordering smoothies, applies both to Samantha and Anthony.
Here is a correct sentence using a plural reflexive pronoun.
- The teachers passed out boxed lunches for the students and themselves.
The action applies to both the teachers and the students, so using “themselves” in this sentence is appropriate. This article was written for www.strategiesforparents.com.
For more on reflexive pronouns, make sure you check out “Myself Included or Including Myself: Which is Correct?” and “You or Yourself: Which Is Correct?”
Final Thoughts
In a few specific circumstances, it is correct to use the phrase “and myself” in a sentence: when the subject is “I,” you are speaking or writing in the first person, and when there are multiple objects.
The word “myself,” a reflexive pronoun, can be a useful tool in talking or writing about yourself. Also, once you learn how to use this pronoun correctly, you can easily transfer these rules to other reflexive pronouns.