TKG English Learner's Dictionary

myself

myselfpronoun

American /maɪˈsɛlf/ British /maɪˈself/ The stress falls on the second part: my-SELF.
very commondefining vocabulary

Myself refers back to the speaker, either as the object of the speaker's own action or to show that it was the speaker, no one else.

  1. reflexiveused as the object of a verb or preposition when the action affects the speaker, the same person who is the subject

    Myself is used when the subject and the object of the same clause refer to the same person: I cut myself. It is not just another way of saying me: when the object is the speaker but the subject is someone else, use me (she gave it to me).

  2. for emphasisused after a noun or pronoun, or alone, to show that the speaker, and no one else, did something or was affected

    This emphatic use often comes right after the subject or at the end of the clause: I myself don't believe it; I made the cake myself.

Phrases

by myself

alone, without other people, or without help

Word family

Usage

In its reflexive use, myself is not simply a more polite or formal way of saying me: it refers back to the subject I in the same clause. When the subject is someone else, use me: can you come with me?

Common mistakes

Can you come with myself? Can you come with me?
As an object, myself is used only when the subject is I; here the subject is you, so the plain object form me is needed.

See also I; me

For translators

Grammar trap English marks a reflexive pronoun with its own form (myself, himself, herself, and so on), different from the ordinary object pronoun; many languages use one reflexive form for every person, or reuse the ordinary object pronoun instead.