Copyeditors: Is this correct?

June 24, 2019 4:02 PM

It's a me or myself usage question.

Should it be "me" or "myself" as the last word in the following?
"Now people ask about my husband more than they ask about ___." Thanks. Maybe also point me to a video that breaks this rule down.

posted by noelpratt2nd to Writing & Language (7 answers total)

Best answer: Me. Myself is reflexive, and you’re just looking for an object pronoun. People do use it for, I guess, emphasis, and it doesn’t muddy the sense of what’s being said, but “me” is correct here.
posted by Smearcase at 4:08 PM on June 24, 2019 [11 favorites]

Though if the asking is directed to the speaker, they could say “Now people ask about my husband more than they ask me about myself."
posted by ejs at 4:10 PM on June 24, 2019 [3 favorites]

Me. Neither part of your sentence is reflexive: the subject is "people / they", not "I". (Examples of reflexives: "They always ask about themselves"; "I don't know what to do with myself.")

But! English speakers are weird about first person pronouns ("I, me"). Some people fall back on "myself", perhaps because they're not sure whether "I" or "me" is correct, perhaps because it sounds genteel or self-effacing.
posted by zompist at 4:52 PM on June 24, 2019

Best answer: Professional copy editor here. “Me” is correct in your example and in ejs’s. “Myself” has to function as an object, and it can only be used if “I” has previously occurred in the sentence. Short video at ed.ted.com.
posted by FencingGal at 4:54 PM on June 24, 2019 [8 favorites]

Response by poster: I'm exuberant. Thanks all!!
posted by noelpratt2nd at 5:02 PM on June 24, 2019 [1 favorite]

The way I remember this is to strip out the extra words and see if "me" fits. For example, instead of "Now people ask about my husband more than they ask about ___", consider "Now people ask about ____". Easy, right? That blank should definitely be filled in by "me."
posted by selfmedicating at 5:08 PM on June 24, 2019 [16 favorites]

"Myself" is a crutch some people rely on in order to sound more professional, but it's super wrong. I can do something to myself, but other people cannot do something to myself. Same goes with him/himself, her/herself, you/yourself, them/themselves.
posted by emelenjr at 11:15 AM on June 25, 2019