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Which one is correct:

Someone like me...


Someone like myself...

Is "like myself" ever correct?

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Possible duplicate of "You" and "yourself", "me" and "myself" –  Uticensis Apr 9 '11 at 0:40
There's a Woody Allen quote in here somewhere. –  intuited Apr 9 '11 at 4:24
Recruiters have started to say 'I'd like to talk to yourself about ...'. It drives me nuts. :( –  nicodemus13 Feb 25 '13 at 17:09

5 Answers 5

up vote 12 down vote accepted

"Someone like me" is the correct one.

There's a lot to say about the usage I guess, but to make a long story short:

Me is a so-called objective pronoun, opposed to subjective pronouns (I, you, she, he). It's called like this because it's placed in the object field after verbs or prepositions:

Wait for me!
She likes me.

Myself instead, is used with reflexive verbs, meaning those verbs that indicate an action that "falls" on the subject:

I wash myself.
I told myself it couldn't be true.

There are exceptions, you can find them here, but I'll paste the interesting part:

Usage note: There is no disagreement over the use of myself and other -self forms when they are used intensively "I myself cannot agree" or reflexively "He introduced himself proudly". Questions are raised, however, when the -self forms are used instead of the personal pronouns ( I, me, etc.) as subjects, objects, or complements. Myself occurs only rarely as a single subject in place of I: Myself was the one who called. The recorded instances of such use are mainly poetic or literary. It is also uncommon as a simple object in place of me: Since the letter was addressed to myself, I opened it. As part of a compound subject, object, or complement, myself and to a lesser extent the other -self forms are common in informal speech and personal writing, somewhat less common in more formal speech and writing: The manager and myself completed the arrangements.
There is ample precedent, going as far back as Chaucer and running through the whole range of British and American literature and other serious formal writing, for all these uses. Many usage guides, however, state that to use myself in any construction in which I or me could be used instead (as My daughter and myself play the flute instead of My daughter and I) is characteristic only of informal speech and that such use ought not to occur in writing.

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I don't quite understand the logic of branding one of the forms as "the correct" one and then going on to explain the circumstances in which the other one is used (emphasis etc)-- why not just say that one is used in one set of circumstances and the other in another set of circumstances-- what does it really buy you to label one as "correct"? –  Neil Coffey Apr 9 '11 at 2:02
I explained the usage of both, and then I pasted something related to the usage of myself, that can change. But to answer your question, as you can read in the quoted part, if you use myself when "me" should be used is not really standard and belongs to informal speech... Tell me if I answered your question! –  Alenanno Apr 9 '11 at 10:03
Great answer! Good to know the reason behind the instinct/habit, rather than just thinking "that sounds wrong". So if you're a 'victim of your own actions' so to speak, it's 'myself' - otherwise, it's a simple case of the object which is 'me'. –  shermy Jan 5 '14 at 1:24

My observation would be that Someone like me is fairly "neutral" or unemphatic, whereas Someone like myself is a more emphatic, almost as though you're "pointing" to yourself. (A bit like when you say "Myself, I think that...".)

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The only time I can think of when "like myself" would be correst is when using like as a verb as in "You may think I'm inadequate, but I like myself."

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It is never correct to use 'myself' in a sentence that does not also contain the word 'I'. Acceptable examples are the reflexive use: I did this myself. And the intensive case: I myself did this. Here's a great article on the subject.

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‘Lord Salisbury and myself have brought you back peace – but a peace I hope with honour.’ From a speech by the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli on returning from the Congress of Berlin, 16 July 1878. –  Barrie England Oct 18 '11 at 15:36
@Barrie England This is the compound subject/object usage, which is listed in the dictionary as "informal": http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/myself Whether Informal is a polite term for incorrect is a matter for debate. My take is that if your intent is to add sophistication to your speech in an attempt to avoid using the lowly 'me', then you are incorrect because 'me' (or 'I') IS correct. However, if you have some artistic or poetic intent then 'myself' in a compound subject or object can be acceptable. –  Paul Jackson Oct 19 '11 at 13:04
Here's another useful link –  Paul Jackson Oct 19 '11 at 13:09
Your advice is incomplete. It's perfectly correct to use "myself" in some sentences that contain "me" or "my": My teacher made me write a letter to myself" or "My New Year's resolution is to stop doubting myself". –  Peter Shor Nov 24 '13 at 0:58

It's a bit of a stretch, but

I'm not like myself until I've had my first cup of coffee.

seems to obey some interpretations of the rules.

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protected by tchrist Jul 22 '14 at 12:30


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