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Possible Duplicate:
When is it correct to use “yourself” and “myself” (versus “you” and “me”)?
Doubt about the subject in this phrase: I, me, or myself?
Use of “myself” in business-speak

Does it make sense to say that?

For example: Jim and myself could not attend the party.

If not, how would I say it? Thanks.

Community
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Richie
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  • Myself indicates something happening to me. You need a simple pronoun: "Jim and I could not attend the party." See also http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/85252/i-me-and-myself and its linked questions. – Andrew Leach Oct 31 '12 at 16:53

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It makes sense, but many would object to it on grounds of style. Myself is a reflexive pronoun. Reflexive pronouns have two main uses. One is to reflect the action expressed in the verb back onto the subject, as in, for example, I’ve hurt myself. The other use is to emphasise a particular noun or pronoun, as in I did it myself, where the speaker wants to remove any doubt that anyone else did it. Some speakers use reflexive pronouns in the way shown in your example, but I would serve just as well, or better.

Barrie England
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    I think this use is a hypercorrection by people who are confused by the formal preference for "I" over the colloquially preferred "me". – StoneyB on hiatus Oct 31 '12 at 16:56
  • I’m generally dubious about hypercorrection. ‘The Cambridge Guide to English Usage’ suggests that people think using myself avoids drawing attention to themselves, which it doesn’t. – Barrie England Oct 31 '12 at 17:22
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Pedants are always telling us that we shouldn't say things like “My wife and myself just got back from Hawaii”, but the reality is many people think I sounds too "formal", and me sounds too "casual", so they just use the form anyway.

I think this is one of those contexts where it's important to remember that "grammar" is essentially a post factum attempt to describe/codify how people actually use language, rather than a set of prescriptive rules telling us what we can and can't say.

That's just my own opinion, of course. If you do use "myself" in such constructions, don't be surprised if some people think this shows that you're somewhat "illiterate".

FumbleFingers
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