Of all the possible pronoun errors one could make, the confusion of I/me/myself surely is among the most common, and of those, it seems myself causes the most trouble.

If you are uncertain of the difference, you are far from alone. Many people who probably ought to know better, including editors, TV journalists, and even an English-teacher-turned-assistant-principal I once worked with, commonly use myself when they really mean me or I.

The good news is, common as the error may be, it's not hard to identify and fix. Begin by defining each pronoun in grammatical terms and examining a simple example of correct general usage.

* I: subject pronoun, used when the speaker is the person performing
Ex: I baked cookies.

* me: object pronoun, used when the speaker is the person receiving
Ex: Cynthia baked cookies for me.

* myself: reflexive pronoun, used when the speaker performs and the action comes back to him
Ex: I ate dozens of cookies and made myself sick.

Confusion usually occurs when the pronoun is used as part of a group instead of alone.

* Wrong: You may submit your suggestions to either Phil Jackson or myself.
Right: You may submit your suggestions to either Phil Jackson or me.

* Wrong: Jane, the committee, and myself will work on the proposal tomorrow afternoon.
Right: Jane, the committee, and I will work on the proposal tomorrow afternoon.

It's easy for that wrong pronoun to be disguised by a group. The speaker would probably not have made the pronoun error if the group factor were not present.

* More obviously wrong: You may submit your suggestions to myself.
Right: You may submit your suggestions to me.

* More obviously wrong: Myself will work on the proposal tomorrow afternoon.
Right: I will work on the proposal tomorrow afternoon.

Therefore, use the individual as a test. Identify the personal pronoun that is correct when used alone, then continue to use that same pronoun when adding other people to the statement. Try it step-by-step with this new example.

You are drafting a memo requesting to meet with your manager to resolve some problems expressed by many workers in your department. You are writing the memo on your own behalf, but Sue James and Chuck Johnson also want to be included in the meeting. How should all your identities be listed in this sentence?

___ are among a group of employees concerned about the new work schedule.

* Try it first using just your pronoun. (Here, as often, this will require changing the form of the verb; that's normal.)
Result: I am among a group of employees concerned about the new work schedule.

* Add the other people back to the sentence. (Don't forget to return the verb to plural!)
Result: Sue James, Chuck Johnson, and I are among a group of employees concerned about the new work schedule.

One final tip: in most cases, grammatical courtesy recommends listing others first, regardless which personal pronoun is correct. An exception would be phrasing such as this:

* I, along with a larger group including Sue James and Chuck Johnson, am concerned about the new work schedule.

Such phrasing implies that "I" is assuming responsibility for or leading this group, so be careful about separating

AnnaLisa Michalski writes and publishes the ezine Word-wise She owns and operates Admin Maven, a virtual assisting service specializing in proofreading and copy editing. http://www.adminmaven.com/