Me, Myself, and I - Business Grammar Rules Explained

Me, Myself, and I is one of the most common business grammar errors we see in business writing training sessions.

What is the Difference between Me, Myself, and I?

I recently found this illustrative error reading one of my favorite blogs (unnamed now, since I don't want to link the error to this otherwise wonderful blog): Can you find the error?

My sister-in-law and brother surprised Eric and I with some personalized cards along with a rubber, address stamp this week from Nameless Print.  The text on the cards are coral — one of my favorite colors and also the color of the bridesmaid dresses along with the rubber stamp ink.  I was semi-dreading writing out all the thank you cards from the wedding (my handwriting leaves a lot to be desired), but after receiving these, I think I may enjoy it a little.

The error is here:

My sister-in-law and brother surprised Eric and I with some personalized cards along with a rubber, address stamp this week from Nameless Print.  The text on the cards are coral — one of my favorite colors and also the color of the bridesmaid dresses along with the rubber stamp ink.  I was semi-dreading writing out all the thank you cards from the wedding (my handwriting leaves a lot to be desired), but after receiving these, I think I may enjoy it a little.

It should read:

My sister-in-law and brother surprised Eric and me with...

Grammar Rules

According to The Gregg Reference Manual and AP Style Guide:

Use I, we, you, he, she, it, they (nominative form personal pronoun):

• When the pronoun is the subject of a verb.
  I wrote to Eileen McIntyre.

Use me, us, you, him, her, it, them (objective form personal pronoun):

• When the pronoun is the direct or indirect object of a verb.
  Larry gave Maris and us tickets for the opening.
  My sister-in-law and brother surprised Eric and me with...

Use myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves (compound personal pronouns):

• To direct the action expressed by the verb back to the subject.
  She found herself the only one in favor of the move.
  
• They can emphasize a noun or pronoun already expressed.
  I will contact her myself.
  
  

Me, Myself, and I Grammar Tip

Here are two tips that will help you avoid this common me/myself/I business grammar error:

1. Simply omit all words between the subject/verb and pronoun:
   My sister-in-law and brother surprised Eric and I.
   My sister-in-law surprised I... sounds odd to the ear. You'll know immediately that My sister-in-law surprised me... is correct. Omit the injected words for a quick check.
   
   
   1.  Myself is rarely used in business writing. If you were, for some odd reason, never allowed to include myself in business documents, you would never miss it.
      
      So, if you are confused, just don't use it. This way, you will never write the common error:
      Please send the report to Karen and myself. 
      
      You will know that the correct sentence is:
      Please send the report to Karen and me.