Practice
Please contact me or myself: which is correct?
If you need help, please contact me. The sentence needs an object after contact. Myself can be correct, but it has a different job: it usually refers back to I or adds emphasis to I.
Use me after contact when another person is asked to contact you, and use myself only when it refers back to I or adds emphasis.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
contact me /ˈkɑn.tækt mi/
The short answer
Use me in Please contact me because contact needs an object and the subject is you, not I. Use myself when the subject is I and the action returns to the same person, or when you want to emphasize I. In a list, remove the other name to test the pronoun: Please contact me, so write Please contact Amina or me.
Please contact me before Friday.
Why it works: Me is the person who should receive the contact. The understood subject is you.
5 more examples
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Please contact me if the meeting time changes.
Me receives the action contact. The request is directed to another person.
Not this:I
contacted myselfby sending a reminder to my own email address. What changes: Myself is possible here because I is both the subject and the person contacted. This situation is less common. -
Please send the invoice to Daniela or me.
Both Daniela and me are objects of send. Remove Daniela and the sentence still reads send the invoice to me.
Not this:I sent the invoice
to myselfso I would have a copy. What changes: The subject I sent something to the same person, so the reflexive pronoun fits. -
Call Jordan or me after the interview.
The verb call needs objects. Jordan and me name the people who can receive the call.
Not this:
I myselfwill call Jordan after the interview. What changes: Myself emphasizes that I, rather than another person, will make the call. -
I reminded myself to contact the support team.
I did the reminding and I needed the reminder. The pronoun refers back to the subject.
Not this:The support team
reminded meto contact them. What changes: The support team is the subject, so me is the object. -
For more details, please speak with me.
After the preposition with, use the object pronoun me.
Not this:I completed the application
myself. What changes: Myself adds emphasis. It means I completed the application without another person doing it for me.
Read the full guide
Start by finding the subject and the person who receives the action. In a request such as Please contact me, the person doing the contacting is you. The person receiving it is me. Do not choose myself just because the sentence sounds more formal.
Choose the object pronoun
Use me when a verb names an action that another person does to you. In a request, the subject is often understood as you. That is why Please contact me uses me.
Please email me when you arrive.
The person who will email is you. Me is the person who will receive the email.
Complete the request: Please call ___ after lunch.
Use me: Please call me after lunch.
Use myself when the action returns to I
A reflexive pronoun points back to the subject. Use myself when I does an action to I. This often happens with verbs such as hurt, remind, blame, or teach.
I taught myself to use the new calendar.
I is the teacher and the learner in this sentence, so myself refers back to I.
Choose the pronoun: I reminded ___ to bring my ID.
Use myself: I reminded myself to bring my ID.
Use myself for emphasis
Myself can emphasize I. This use tells the reader that I did something personally. It does not change the basic grammar of a sentence.
I myself checked every address.
Myself emphasizes I. It does not receive the action checked.
Add emphasis to I: I will answer the question ___.
Use myself: I will answer the question myself.
Test a pronoun in a list
A name beside a pronoun can make the choice sound harder. Remove the name and read the shorter sentence. If you would say Please contact me, write Please contact Elena or me.
Please contact Elena or me with any questions.
Remove Elena: Please contact me with any questions. The object pronoun stays the same.
Choose the standard form: Send the file to Amir or ___.
Use me: Send the file to Amir or me.
Keep formality separate from grammar
Myself can sound formal in a short work message, but formality is not its grammar job. Use a reflexive pronoun only when it refers back to I or gives emphasis to I. Clear messages use the normal object form when that is what the sentence needs.
For an update, please speak with me.
With needs an object, so me is the standard form.
Does a formal email need myself after contact when another person is the subject?
No. Use me unless the sentence has a reflexive or emphatic use of myself.
Before you go
Remember this
Use me when another person is asked to contact, call, email, or speak with you. Use myself when I acts on I, or when you want to emphasize I. In a list, remove the other person and choose the pronoun that still works.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Please contact me or myself: which is correct?"
Why is please contact me correct?
In this request, the person doing the contacting is understood as you, and me is the person who receives the action. English uses the object pronoun me after contact when someone else is asked to contact you.
Please contact me if the meeting time changes.
When can I use contact myself?
Use contact myself only when I is both the person making contact and the person receiving it. For example, someone might send a note to their own account. This reflexive situation is possible but less common than asking another person to contact you.
I contacted myself by sending a reminder to my own email address.
Is myself wrong after a name in a list?
In standard English, use an object pronoun after a verb or preposition: contact Hana or me, or send the form to Hana or me. Some writers use myself in this position to sound formal, but it does not have the usual reflexive or emphatic role.
Please send the invoice to Daniela or me.
How can I check me or myself in a longer phrase?
Remove the other name or words around the pronoun and test the shorter sentence. If the result is contact me or speak with me, use me in the longer phrase. Then check whether I is the subject before choosing the reflexive form myself.
I sent the invoice to myself so I would have a copy.
Can myself add emphasis without being an object?
Yes. In I myself will reply, myself emphasizes I. It can also follow the verb phrase, as in I will reply myself. This use adds emphasis, but it does not replace me where a different person is the subject.
Call Jordan or me after the interview.