If you’re confused by the words I, me, my, mine, and myself, you’re not alone! In this lesson, you will learn the difference between them and when to use the right one.
I and ME
I is the subject – the person who does the action in the sentence. Only use “I” when you are referring to yourself in the subject of the sentence. In other words, you are the one taking action.
I gave John the book.
Me is the object – the person who receives the action in the sentence. The pronoun “me” should be used when someone else will perform the action to, or for, you.
John gave me the book.
OR: John gave the book to me.
When there are more than one subject or object people do get a little confused , so we will see how to use it correctly
John and I saw Jane at the party.
John = subject
I = subject
The teacher called Jim and me.
The teacher = subject
Jim = object
me = object
MY and MINE
Use my before the word, and use mine after the word.
Remember my is always followed by noun where as mine replaces the noun.
John is my friend.
John is a friend of mine.
Those are my glasses.
Those glasses are mine.
The pronoun “myself” should only be used when you are performing the action on yourself. No one else can do anything to yourself.
The word myself is used in two cases:
When you do something to yourself
Eg) I accidentally cut myself with the knife.
For emphasis - when you want to emphasize the “I”
Eg) I baked this cake myself!
The expression by myself means alone:
I went out to dinner by myself.