Paul and myself think you could use some book larnin’.

One of the constructions I see most often misused is the classic “please let Paul and myself know your intentions” or “Paul and myself were honored to be invited.” I think people use “myself” in these situations because it sounds more formal, and somehow they grew up believing that the most formal-sounding locution is generally the most correct. But it’s wrong.

“Myself” (as with all the “-self” words, actually) is a very unique pronoun, intended to be used only as an object affected by a clause in which the subject (or implied subject) is “I.” Yourself and Bob don’t go to the store; you and Bob go. You could correctly say “I went to the store myself,” but that’s a distinct sort of usage from the incorrect “Paul went to the store with myself.”

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(It occurs to me I’ll probably wind up talking about the difference between “i.e.” and “e.g.” pretty soon.)

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