I, Me, and Myself Grammar Rules

I, me, and myself are first person singular pronouns that we often use daily. However, they may sometimes a bit confusing in certain sentence that leads to a grammatical error. So, here we’re going to discuss about the proper use of I, me, and myself based on grammar rule.


i or myself grammar

I, me, and myself grammar rules

The Proper Use of I

I is used for subject in a sentence when the speaker or writer is referring to himself/herself. It is also called as subject pronoun because it is used as the subject of a verb or verb be.

Let’s look at the examples:

  • I moved to this town five months ago.
  • I am really worried about my sister.
  • I cooked your favorite fried rice.
  • I bought you a box of doughnuts last night.

If you want to mention more than one subject nouns or pronouns, you should put I after the other subject nouns or pronouns.

Here are the examples:

  • Benny and I are old friends. NOT I and Benny are old friends.
  • My boyfriend and I enjoy going to the theater at the weekend. NOT My boyfriend and i enjoy going to the theater at the weekend.
  • Azizah, Fahmi, and I usually have breakfast at the Starbucks. NOT I, Azizah, and Fahmi usually have breakfast at the Starbucks.
  • Fahri, Yuna, and I bought Chinese food at the nearby seafood restaurant for the dinner. NOT I, Fahri, and Yuna bought Chinese food at the nearby seafood restaurant for the dinner.

The Proper Use of Me

On the other hand, me is used for object in a sentence when the speaker or writer is the object of a verb or verb be. That’s why it’s also called as object pronoun.

Let’s look at the examples:

  • She thanked me for the present.
  • Ridhuan helped Sarah and me to do the final project.
  • Mark treated me a cup of chocolate ice cream.

If you want to compare yourself with someone or something, you have to use "than me" or "than I am/do/have" etc. instead of "than I".

Let’s look at the examples.

  • Doni is taller than me. NOT Doni is taller than I.
  • He was older than me/I was. NOT He was older than I.
  • She did the project better than me/I did. NOT She did the project better than I.
  • Diana needs that money more than me/I do. NOT Diana needs that money more than I.

The Proper Use of Myself

You can use myself to refer back to the subject of the sentence if the subject is I. So, here the speaker or writer is also the person who affected by his/her action.

  • I blame myself for everything that has happened.
  • I’m making myself crispy fried chicken.
  • I cut myself when slicing the onion.
  • I found myself hard to speak in front of big crowd.

You can also use myself to emphasize the fact that the speaker or writer is doing something.

  • I will speak to Rose myself.
  • They say it’s a nice place with stunning view, but I myself find it’s just an ordinary place.
  • I myself do not agree about their opinion.
  • Why do I always have to do all the domestic chores myself?

Well, that’s all our discussion about the proper use of I, me, and myself with the examples. If you want to learn more about English language, you can find more English lesson on our index page of ContohText.