Writing Tips
http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Institutional Links
-
Translation Bureau
Language Portal of Canada
-
TERMIUM Plus®
-
Index M
- ma’am
- Mac-
- Macintosh
- macintosh
- mackintosh
- macro-
- madam
- madame
- made from
- Madelinot
- made of
- made with
- Magdalen Islands
- major breakthrough
- majority
- make a decision
- make allowance for
- mal-
- male
- Man
- manageable
- manager
- manageress
- maneuver
- mango
- Manila
- manila
- manilla
- Manitoba
- Manitoban
- manner
- manoeuvrability
- manoeuvrable
- manoeuvre
- manoeuvring
- mantel
- mantle
- maquiladora
- margins
- marmalade
- mat
- material
- matériel
- materiel
- matri-
- matt
- matte
- maven
- may
- maybe
- may be
- MB
- Mc-
- McIntosh
- MDT
- meager
- meagre
- means
- media
- medium
- mega-
- memorandums: memorandum format
- memorandums: model memorandum
- merchandise
- merchandize
- merge together
- Messrs.
- meta-
- metaphor
- Metro
- micro-
- might
- migrate
- militate
- milli-
- mini-
- minutes: agenda
- minutes: general
- minutes: indirect speech
- minutes: model agenda
- minutes: model minutes
- minutes: writing of minutes
- mis-
- missing gap
- mitigate
- Mmes.
- moment’s notice (at a)
- mono-
- Montréal
- Montréaler
- Montrealer
- monuments and public places
- moot
- moot point
- more ideal
- more preferable
- more than
- most
- most ideal
- most preferable
- Mountain Daylight Time
- Mountain Standard Time
- movements and styles
- Mses.
- Mss.
- MST
- mucous
- mucus
- multi-
- mutual
- mutual co-operation
- myself
Proactive Disclosure
Important notice
Writing Tips has been archived and won’t be updated before it is permanently deleted.
For the most up-to-date content, please consult Writing Tips Plus, which combines content from Writing Tips and The Canadian Style. And don’t forget to update your bookmarks!
Search and Functionalities Area
myself
The reflexive and intensive pronoun myself is often used incorrectly. The following guidelines show the standard and non-standard uses of myself.
Standard use
There are two correct ways to use the pronoun myself.
- To reflect the action back onto I, me or my:
- I hurt myself skydiving.
- The instructor helped me strap myself into the parachute.
- My plan was to hurl myself out of a plane once a week.
- To emphasize the subject I:
- I will build the tree house myself.
- I myself have no objections.
Non-standard use
When writing, avoid using myself to replace I or me as subject or object of a verb.
- Greg, Tim and I (not Greg, Tim and myself) walked home.
- Meg let Jan and me (not Jan and myself) use her computer.
© Public Services and Procurement Canada, 2024
TERMIUM Plus®, the Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank
Writing tools – Writing Tips
A product of the Translation Bureau
