myself

Myself is a first-person singular pronoun used in English as a reflexive and, in some constructions, as an intensive pronoun. It refers back to the subject of the sentence when the action is directed toward the speaker, or is used to emphasize the speaker in appropriate contexts.

As a reflexive pronoun: I hurt myself when I slipped. I taught myself to play the piano. In these cases, the pronoun serves to indicate that the subject both acts and experiences the action.

As an intensive pronoun: I myself disagree with that decision. The intensive use is mainly for emphasis and is often placed near the emphasized element, as in I myself did the work. In such constructions, myself does not change the grammatical role of the subject.

Common usage notes: In standard grammar, myself is not used as the subject in coordinated noun phrases; for example, John and I went to the store, not Myself and John went. It is also not used to replace the object pronoun in ordinary sentences; the correct object form is me (or the appropriate pronoun) after prepositions or as the object of a verb, not myself: Please send the report to me, not Please send the report to myself.

Origin and related forms: The word combines the possessive determiner my with the reflexive suffix -self. It is related to yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves, all sharing the reflexive or intensive function in English.