Victoria, a Writing911.com visitor, reported seeing this sentence on a website for nonprofits:

Seeing the word myself used that way sets her teeth on edge, says Victoria.

The sentence is wrong, because the author should have used me instead of myself. Mistakes like this are often made when writers can't decide whether I or me is correct. Instead, they use myself. So what is the proper use of myself and the other -self words like yourself, himself, etc.?

Use these words for two reasons only: to refer back to the subject and to add special emphasis.

Referring Back to the Subject

He cut himself accidentally.
We treated ourselves to dessert.
The doors in the haunted house appear to open all by themselves.

Adding Special Emphasis

I did it myself!
The teacher herself had to look up the answer.
We designed the website ourselves.

In these examples, the -self words could be left out and the sentences would still make sense. The words are there for emphasis only.

Choosing Between I and Me

If you find yourself using myself in any but the two circumstances above, you need to choose between I and me instead. Follow what sounds natural to you, and in most instances, you'll make the right choice. Another trick is to substitute he and him. If your sentence works with he, use I. If it works with him, use me. If the word follows a preposition (words like by, after, as, at, for, in, like, with, etc.), choose me.

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