Please contact X, Y, or myself. - Correct?
Podibanda Kuruppu
It _sounds_ right, but instinct tells me that the correct
sentence would be "Please contact X, Y, or me."
I'd like to hear what others have to say about this
sentence.
TIA
Skitt
Podibanda Kuruppu wrote in message ...
Sometimes I talk to myself, but I try to hide that fact. I'd rather
that it were others who talk to me.
--
Skitt http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/5537/
Gary Williams, Business Services Accounting
In article <yxx7m24...@seegiri.nsd.3com.com>, Podibanda Kuruppu
<podiN...@seegiri.ewdnospam.3com.com> writes:
>It _sounds_ right, but instinct tells me that the correct
>sentence would be "Please contact X, Y, or me."
Allowing for the fact that this mis-analysis may be hard-wired into our
intuitive grammars, I think the form "please contact x, y, or myself" is
confused; it is obviously not reflexive, but perhaps the distance it stands
from the verb lets us forget that it is not I contacting me, but the listener.
On the other hand, this is another instance where we use a different pronoun in
coordination than we would standing alone. I don't think "Please contact
myself" is nearly as likely to be produced.
Gary Williams
Curtis Cameron
Podibanda Kuruppu wrote:
>
>It _sounds_ right, but instinct tells me that the correct
>sentence would be "Please contact X, Y, or me."
>
>I'd like to hear what others have to say about this
>sentence.
Since I didn't understand the other responses to your query, I'll take
a stab at it. There are two instances when you should use the "-self"
form: reflexive and intensive.
Reflexive is where the object is the same as the subject, such as "Sue
did that to herself" or "I can see myself in that shiny fender."
Intensive is where the word intensifies another word that's already
there: "Sue herself did that" ("herself" intensifies "sue") or "I can
see it myself" ("myself" intensifies "I").
In the sentence "Please contact x, y, or myself", it would not be
either of these categories, and your instinct is correct in
questioning it. However, it is a common error, especially where the
speaker is trying to sound formal without understanding good grammar.
-Curtis Cameron
WGS-84 33.033N, 96.724W
nancy g.
Podibanda Kuruppu wrote:
>
> It _sounds_ right, but instinct tells me that the correct
> sentence would be "Please contact X, Y, or me."
>
> I'd like to hear what others have to say about this
> sentence.
I don't even think it sounds right. The word "myself" is what
I believe is called a "reflexive" pronoun -- not sure if that's
the right word for it, but I do know that it was drilled into me
in junior high that it is only proper to use the word "myself"
in a sentence when the subject of that sentence is the word "I".
Thus, "I will do it myself" is correct, but "Please contact myself"
is not correct. Adding other people to the contact list does not
change the fact that the subject of the sentence is still the
understood "you" and not "I".
Charles A. Lee
On 26 Jun 1998 11:14:02 -0700, you wrote:
>It _sounds_ right, but instinct tells me that the correct
>sentence would be "Please contact X, Y, or me."
>
>I'd like to hear what others have to say about this
>sentence.
When the subject of a sentence refers to itself in the object portion
of the sentence, "-self" pronouns are appropriate. At other times,
use regular pronouns.
In your example, the understood subject is "you." Using a -self
pronoun would yield "You please contact myself" which is wrong. You
contact me. The compounding of the object makes no difference. You
contact Jane, Helen, the Wizard of Oz, or me.
Charles A. Lee
http://www.concentric.net/~azcal
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+"Marriage is like a hot bath; +
+ once you get used to it, +
+ it ain't so hot." +
+ - Minnie Pearl +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Stan Brown
Someone claiming to be podiN...@seegiri.ewdnospam.3com.com (Podibanda
Kuruppu) wrote in <yxx7m24...@seegiri.nsd.3com.com>:
>
>It _sounds_ right, but instinct tells me that the correct
>sentence would be "Please contact X, Y, or me."
>
Go with your instinct. "me" is the only correct pronoun.
A great many people use "myself" because they can't decide between "I"
and "me", or for some other equally bad reason. But the legitimate uses
of the "-self" pronouns are reflexive and intensive, and the context you
give is neither.
--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
http://www.concentric.net/%7eBrownsta/
My reply address is correct as is. The courtesy of providing a correct
reply address is more important to me than time spent deleting spam.
PaulArris
Polar wrote:
>
> On Fri, 26 Jun 1998 14:46:48 -0400, "Skitt" <al...@myself.com> wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
> This one went around and around and around not too long ago.
> My position is that sometimes "myself" just *feels* right; it
> conveys more emphasis that plain vanilla *me*.
>
> Polar
Thank yourself for letting me know that—otherwise myself would have wasted a
lot of time going over that well-trodden rocky road.
Paul Smith
Skitt
wor...@my-dejanews.com wrote in message
<6n1903$cfd$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
>In article <6n0qgo$6k...@svlss.lmms.lmco.com>,
> "Skitt" <al...@myself.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Podibanda Kuruppu wrote in message ...
>> >
>> >It _sounds_ right, but instinct tells me that the correct
>> >sentence would be "Please contact X, Y, or me."
>> >
>> >I'd like to hear what others have to say about this
>> >sentence.
>>
>> Sometimes I talk to myself, but I try to hide that fact. I'd rather
>> that it were others who talk to me.
>
>I also talk to myself, but personally, I'd rather that it were others
who
>*talked* to me. Wouldn't myself? :>
I'm not so sure that my wish for others talking to me at present is
entirely ungrammatical.
--
Skitt http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/5537/
podibanda Kuruppu
nancy g. wrote:
> Podibanda Kuruppu wrote:
> >
> > It _sounds_ right, but instinct tells me that the correct
> > sentence would be "Please contact X, Y, or me."
<snip>
> is not correct. Adding other people to the contact list does not
> change the fact that the subject of the sentence is still the
> understood "you" and not "I".
Good point.
Gary Williams, Business Services Accounting
I'm not sure that Polar may not have been onto something. "Myself" is an
emphatic pronoun as well as a reflexive. Most of the reactions, including
mine, have centered on the non-reflexivity of the pronoun in the sentence under
scrutiny. While I don't think the emphatic is particularly appropriate, there,
either, it is a whole lot easier to understand the use of an emphatic pronoun
in that context than a reflexive one.
Gary Williams
Mike Zorn
>Podibanda Kuruppu wrote in message ...
>>It _sounds_ right, but instinct tells me that the correct
>>sentence would be "Please contact X, Y, or me."
The best way to handle cases like this (plural subject or object)
is to take out all the other subjects or objects:
Please contact me or
Please contact I or
Please contact myself
The one that works for one, works for all.
Mike Zorn rigo...@kaiwan.com
* This Moment of Inertia
* is brought to you by the Gluon Corp.,
* makers of fine Hadrons.
John Holmes
Polar wrote in message <3597112d...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>...
>On Fri, 26 Jun 1998 14:46:48 -0400, "Skitt" <al...@myself.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>Podibanda Kuruppu wrote in message ...
>>>
>>>It _sounds_ right, but instinct tells me that the correct
>>>sentence would be "Please contact X, Y, or me."
>>>
>>>I'd like to hear what others have to say about this
>>>sentence.
>>
>>Sometimes I talk to myself, but I try to hide that fact. I'd rather
>>that it were others who talk to me.
>
>This one went around and around and around not too long ago.
>My position is that sometimes "myself" just *feels* right; it
>conveys more emphasis that plain vanilla *me*.
I agree. In the example, a mere pronoun tends to look de-emphasised
after the (presumably) proper names X and Y. "Myself" can be used
instead of "me" to give equal weight.
Thus:
"Please contact him or me."
(the "me" doesn't need added emphasis)
"Please contact him or myself."
(sounds a bit odd or pretentious)
"Please contact Joe, Charlie or me."
(sounds OK, but "me" seems a bit de-emphasised)
"Please contact Joe, Charlie or myself."
(seems to give equal weight to all three)
Regards,
John.
hol...@smart.net.au
email copies of any replies would be appreciated.
JAF
>>>>It _sounds_ right, but instinct tells me that the correct
>>>>sentence would be "Please contact X, Y, or me."
>>>>
>>>>I'd like to hear what others have to say about this
>>>>sentence.
You should try the (any) sentence, with only yourself in it. Rearrianging
it if necessary. Whatever is right in this case will be right in the other.
eg.'Please contact me', therefore 'Please contact, a,b or me". "Who did
this?", "I did", or "It was I", but this sounds 'strained', even though
correct, so 'I did' is better.
'Myself' is not correct but is used a lot. "I did it myself/by myself/for
myself" are ok. Him and myself, or he and myself, should be He and I, you
woildn't say 'him did it', but 'he did it'. You wouldn't say 'me (or
myself) did it', but 'I did it'. Good manners require the other to be
named first, He and I, not I and he, or him and me, not me and him.
Gobbledegook, I know......but it works.
William Lieblich
JAF wrote:
>
[snip]
>
> You wouldn't say 'me (or
> myself) did it', but 'I did it'.
>
Counterexample: "The Bible is very clear on this. Both myself and
Senator Lott believe very strongly in the Bible." -- Rep. Armey
(Texas), remarking on Lott's comments on homosexuality. (Speaking of the
Bible, one wonders what Lott's wife thinks of all this.)
Bill Lieblich
Gary Williams, Business Services Accounting
> (Speaking of the Bible, one wonders what Lott's wife thinks of all this.)
You mean the one who is a pillar of salt? or the one who is a pillar of her
community?
Gary Williams
Skitt
William Lieblich wrote in message <359935...@his.com>...
>JAF wrote:
>>
>[snip]
>>
>> You wouldn't say 'me (or
>> myself) did it', but 'I did it'.
>>
>[snip]
>
>Counterexample: "The Bible is very clear on this. Both myself and
>Senator Lott believe very strongly in the Bible." -- Rep. Armey
>(Texas), remarking on Lott's comments on homosexuality.
It just goes to show you -- not everyone speaks formal English at all
times.
--
Skitt http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/5537/
Some mornings it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps.
--Emo Phillips
K1912
William Lieblich wrote:
[...]
>Counterexample: "The Bible is very clear on this. Both myself and
>Senator Lott believe very strongly in the Bible." -- Rep. Armey
>(Texas), remarking on Lott's comments on homosexuality. (Speaking of the
>Bible, one wonders what Lott's wife thinks of all this.)
>
>
If she's worth her salt, she'll pepper you with an answer.
K1912
nancy g.
William Lieblich wrote:
> JAF wrote:
> [snip]
>> You wouldn't say 'me (or myself) did it', but 'I did it'.
> [snip]
> Counterexample: "The Bible is very clear on this. Both myself
> and Senator Lott believe very strongly in the Bible."
> -- Rep. Armey (Texas), remarking on Lott's comments on homosexuality.
But you're not offering this as a counterexample of *correct* use
of the word "myself", are you? The above quote is not correct.
He should instead have said "Both Senator Lott and I believe ... "
or "I believe ... and so does Senator Lott."
Does anyone else agree with me? I'll hunt up a grammar text and look
this up if I need to.
Nancy G.
who *thought* she knew this one
Robert Lieblich
nancy g. wrote:
>
> William Lieblich wrote:
>
> > JAF wrote:
>
> > [snip]
>
> >> You wouldn't say 'me (or myself) did it', but 'I did it'.
>
> > [snip]
>
> > Counterexample: "The Bible is very clear on this. Both myself
> > and Senator Lott believe very strongly in the Bible."
> > -- Rep. Armey (Texas), remarking on Lott's comments on homosexuality.
>
> But you're not offering this as a counterexample of *correct* use
> of the word "myself", are you? The above quote is not correct.
It seems as accurate as any other quote. But that's not what you meant,
is it? So your second sentence is not correct, right?
> He should instead have said "Both Senator Lott and I believe ... "
> or "I believe ... and so does Senator Lott."
>
> Does anyone else agree with me? I'll hunt up a grammar text and look
> this up if I need to.
The original statement was "You [the generic "you," equivalent to formal
"one"] wouldn't say . . . ." Obviously, some people *would* and *do*
say what JAF said one wouldn't say. "Shouldn't" is another question
entirely. Hence the quoted statement was a legitimate counterexample.
Neil Coffey would, I believe, declare it grammatical. Whether he should
is another question.
Bob Lieblich
Ross Howard
On 28 Jun 1998 14:11:50 GMT, will...@ahecas.AHEC.EDU (Gary Williams,
Business Services Accounting) wrote:
>In article <359461A2...@home.com>, PaulArris <pau...@home.com> writes:
>>Polar wrote:
>>>
>>> On Fri, 26 Jun 1998 14:46:48 -0400, "Skitt" <al...@myself.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>[snip]
>>>
>>> This one went around and around and around not too long ago.
>>> My position is that sometimes "myself" just *feels* right; it
>>> conveys more emphasis that plain vanilla *me*.
>>>
>>> Polar
>>
>>Thank yourself for letting me know that—otherwise myself would have wasted a
>>lot of time going over that well-trodden rocky road.
>
>I'm not sure that Polar may not have been onto something. "Myself" is an
>emphatic pronoun as well as a reflexive. Most of the reactions, including
>mine, have centered on the non-reflexivity of the pronoun in the sentence under
>scrutiny. While I don't think the emphatic is particularly appropriate, there,
>either, it is a whole lot easier to understand the use of an emphatic pronoun
>in that context than a reflexive one.
But it's not an all-purpose emphatic substitute for *me*:
*I saw her but she didn't see myself.
*If you don't want it, give it to myself.
Nor can it always stand for emphatic *I*:
*How the hell should myself know?
*Myself was the one who said that first.
It's just used by some people as a substitute for "I" or "me" after
"and" or "or".
Sometimes it smacks of panic over having to decide whether it should
be "I" or "me":
*There was some healthy rivalry between several of the other
faculty members and myself.
Sometimes it actually removes the emphasis of *I* or *me*, probably
because the speaker considers overt personalisation to be
inappropriate. I often see it used this way by politicicans discussing
the things they say and do while acting their part:
The other agriculture ministers and myself had an open
exchange of views, with each setting out the position of
their governments as such in a forthright manner.
The second half of that sentence is deliberately horrible; I only ever
see this non-reflexive "myself" used in the context of otherwise
horrible English.
Ross Howard
**************************************
There's a number in my e-mail address.
Subtract four from it to reply.
**************************************
William Lieblich
Whoever this "Bob Lieblich" guy is, he took the words right out of my
mouth. I would have gone a little easier on Nancy, however, even if she
does allow her cat to drink from the toilet (oops, sorry, wrong thread).
Bill Lieblich (aka (to a1a) as "Bob's impertinent little brother")
a1a5...@bc.sympatico.ca
>Whoever this "Bob Lieblich" guy is, he took the words right out of my
>mouth. I would have gone a little easier on Nancy, however, even if she
>does allow her cat to drink from the toilet (oops, sorry, wrong thread).
>
>Bill Lieblich (aka (to a1a) as "Bob's impertinent little brother")
'Twas obiter dicta, not ex cathedra. In view of your
protectiveness over cats I withdraw herewith, hereby and by
irrevocable deed the burden of the yoking.