Reflexive Pronouns
I was able to catch an episode of One Tree Hill and Haley and Nathan were talking. And somehow the writers were able to work in when it's right to use "Peyton and I" and "Peyton and me" in a sentence.
Hmm...I couldn't figure it out! Well grammar wasn't a really strong subject of mine back in school. So I asked my officemate, he couldn't tell me either. Not good! Not good! We're both writers and we don't know what's the proper usage!
Well our little chat disturbed him and later on in the day he emails me. The subject: Reflexive Pronouns.
So for all of you that don't know what the heck a Reflexive Pronoun is or maybe you just need a refresher, here's the email...
Reflexive Pronoun Errors
Reflexive pronouns are a prime target for errors, and once you know how to use them correctly, you'll no doubt notice others using them incorrectly all the time. One of the most common errors is using a reflexive pronoun instead of a personal pronoun. This most often happens where the writer (or speaker) is uncertain whether to use a subjective pronoun (I, he, they) or an objective pronoun (me, him, them). Consider the following groups of sentences:
Keith and myself went swimming yesterday.
Keith and I went swimming yesterday.
Keith and me went swimming yesterday.
The show was successful because Trish and myself worked so hard.
The show was successful because Trish and I worked so hard.
The show was successful because Trish and me worked so hard.
Mother wanted Lisa and myself to be the winners
Mother wanted it to be Lisa and me to be the winners.
Mother wanted it to be Lisa and I to be the winners.
In each of the above groups, the middle sentence is the correct one. "Myself" doesn't work in any of them because there is no antecedent (in these cases, no other instance of me or I or the proper noun those pronouns substitute for) in the same sentence. The kind of usage illustrated by the first sentence of each group is becoming more common, though. It still seems lazy to me (and a writer should never be lazy where language is concerned), but it may well be acceptable English in the future.
You and I now know how to use Reflexive Pronouns! ;)
Hmm...I couldn't figure it out! Well grammar wasn't a really strong subject of mine back in school. So I asked my officemate, he couldn't tell me either. Not good! Not good! We're both writers and we don't know what's the proper usage!
Well our little chat disturbed him and later on in the day he emails me. The subject: Reflexive Pronouns.
So for all of you that don't know what the heck a Reflexive Pronoun is or maybe you just need a refresher, here's the email...
Reflexive Pronoun Errors
Reflexive pronouns are a prime target for errors, and once you know how to use them correctly, you'll no doubt notice others using them incorrectly all the time. One of the most common errors is using a reflexive pronoun instead of a personal pronoun. This most often happens where the writer (or speaker) is uncertain whether to use a subjective pronoun (I, he, they) or an objective pronoun (me, him, them). Consider the following groups of sentences:
Keith and myself went swimming yesterday.
Keith and I went swimming yesterday.
Keith and me went swimming yesterday.
The show was successful because Trish and myself worked so hard.
The show was successful because Trish and I worked so hard.
The show was successful because Trish and me worked so hard.
Mother wanted Lisa and myself to be the winners
Mother wanted it to be Lisa and me to be the winners.
Mother wanted it to be Lisa and I to be the winners.
In each of the above groups, the middle sentence is the correct one. "Myself" doesn't work in any of them because there is no antecedent (in these cases, no other instance of me or I or the proper noun those pronouns substitute for) in the same sentence. The kind of usage illustrated by the first sentence of each group is becoming more common, though. It still seems lazy to me (and a writer should never be lazy where language is concerned), but it may well be acceptable English in the future.
You and I now know how to use Reflexive Pronouns! ;)
posted by bernadette @ 9:02 PM
3 Comments:
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