I vs. Myself

i myself reflexive pronouns subject pronouns

Do you know what is the difference between 'I' and 'Myself'? They are both pronouns, both refer to the same person. But they are not interchangeable. Why?

Main Similarity and Difference

'I' and 'myself' are both pronouns and both refer to the same person. 'Myself' is the reflexive form of the pronoun 'I' and 'I' is the first person singular subject pronoun.

'I' as Subject Pronoun

'I' is the subject pronoun, the one performing the action of the verb, so it must be used as a subject in a sentence. Look at the example:

I drove to work today.

'Myself' as the Reflexive & Emphatic Pronoun

'Myself' is the reflexive form of the pronoun 'I' and can take two roles in a sentence. It can be:

Emphatic pronoun

'Myself' is used to emphasize that you did the action with no or little help, not someone else.

I fixed the computer myself.

Reflexive pronoun

'Myself' is used when the speaker is the one who receives or is affected by the action of the verb (the subject and object of the verb are the same person).

I burned myself while ironing.

I bought myself a new car!

Don't Use 'Myself' When You Can Use 'I' or 'Me'

Grammar Nazis normally do not accept any sort of use of 'myself' when you can simply use 'I' or 'me'. You can use 'myself' when you have already used 'I' in the same sentence. For example:

I am a huge Game of Thrones fan myself!

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