Pronouns

“On behalf of myself and other company Leaders, I want to thank you …”

Capitalization, Common English Blunders, Pronouns

I read this in an email message.

Problems:
1. Any first-person pronoun should go at the end of a list.
2. An “On behalf of” phrase should never include a first-person pronoun.
3. Reflexive pronouns should not be joined with other nouns.
4. Roles that are not job titles should not be capitalized.

Explanations:
1. One should put others first in a list. Here are two examples:
Incorrect: “He gave it to me and Jim.”
Correct: “He gave it to Jim and me.”
Incorrect: “I and Jim are downstairs.”
Correct: “Jim and I are downstairs.”

2. “On behalf of” implies that one party is doing something as a substitute, proxy, or delegate for another party. So “On behalf of myself” makes no sense and implies either an out-of-body experience or too much pride.

3. Even if problem #1 and problem #2 did not exist, it is incorrect to combine a reflexive pronoun (such as “myself”) with other nouns or noun phrases (such as “other company leaders”).

4. The word “Leaders” is not a job title — at least, not in the context of the problematic sentence — and therefore should not be used in this sentence as a proper noun. So it should not be capitalized.

Solution:
“On behalf of other company leaders, I want to thank you….”

“Please send that file to Ellen or myself.”

Common English Blunders, Pronouns

I heard this during a conference call.

Problem:
“Myself” is the wrong pronoun.

Explanation:
This sentence is an imperative; the speaker is asking the listener to send something to Ellen or to him. This sentence can not be reflexive; the speaker is not talking about something that he is doing for/by himself. “Myself” is a reflexive pronoun, so it’s not the correct pronoun here in this non-reflexive sentence. Instead, “me” is the correct pronoun. To confirm this, imagine the speaker asking the listener to send something only to him: “Please send that file to me.” Adding “Ellen or ” has no impact; “me” remains the correct pronoun.

Solution:
“Please send that file to Ellen or me.”

“Please send it to he and I.”

Common English Blunders, Pronouns

I heard this during a conference call.

Problems:
1. He is the wrong pronoun.
2. I is the wrong pronoun.

Explanations:
1. You should not say, “Please send it to he.” Instead, you should say, “Please send it to him.” Adding more parties to the list of those receiving what is to be sent makes no difference; the correct pronoun is still him.
2. You should not say, “Please send it to I.” Instead, you should say, “Please send it to me.” Adding more parties to the list of those receiving what is to be sent makes no difference; the correct pronoun is still me.

Solution:
“Please send it to him and me.”