Please contact me or myself: Which is correct? - English Grammar Lesson

Select a line to hear it again. Tap any word to see what it means. Underlined words are the key words of this video.

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   Bella Welcome to our guide on whether to say please contact me or
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   Bella myself. Say me when someone contacts you,
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   Bella and myself only when referring back to I. Choose
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   Bella me or myself accurately in everyday polite requests and
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   Bella personal workplace messages.
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   Bella Many people write polite emails every day. When
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   Bella they invite colleagues to get in touch, they sometimes wonder
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   Bella whether to write contact me or contact myself.
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   Bella In this sentence, the subject is you. Since
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    Bella another person is contacting you, you need the standard object
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    Bella pronoun me instead of myself.
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    Bella Look at this sentence. The writer asks the reader to get in
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    Bella touch. Saying please contact me sounds natural,
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    Bella professional, and grammatically correct.
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    Bella Now try this question. Which sentence is correct for a business
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    Bella email? Think about who is doing the contacting before you
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    Bella answer.
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    Bella Well done. The first option is correct. Use
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    Bella me because the person contacting you is someone else. Saying
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    Bella myself in this sentence is a common mistake.
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    Bella This rule also works when you name another person. You should
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    Bella write please contact Sarah or me, because me
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    Bella is still the object of contact.
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    Bella Only use myself when it refers back to the subject I.
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    Bella For instance, you can say I completed the project myself
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    Bella or I introduced myself.
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    Bella Notice how contact follows the same pattern as call
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    Bella or email. English speakers naturally say call
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    Bella me and email me, so contact me follows the same pattern.
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    Bella Here is another natural example from the workplace. Writing
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    Bella feel free to contact me sounds friendly, warm,
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    Bella and entirely natural to native ears.
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    Bella Listen to the rhythm of the words. The stress falls on contact,
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    Bella and the word me follows lightly without any pause between them.
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    Bella Let us check your understanding again. Which request
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    Bella is correct for two team members? Choose the option that uses
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    Bella correct grammar.
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    Bella Excellent choice. Contact David or me is
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    Bella right. Use me because both David and me receive
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    Bella the action. Removing David leaves contact me.
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    Bella Now you will hear four short workplace conversations. Listen
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    Bella carefully for who is being contacted and notice whether me
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    Bella or myself is used correctly.
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    Bella In this conversation, two colleagues talk about finishing a
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    Bella weekly report. Listen for the phrase they use when offering
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    Bella help.
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    George I have finished updating the handover notes for our team.
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    Alice Thank you. Should I call you if any questions come up?
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    George Yes, please contact me directly if you need anything.
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    Bella The speaker says contact me because another person
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    Bella is being asked to do the contacting, which requires the object
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    Bella pronoun me. Evidence: Yes,
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    Bella please contact me directly if you need anything.
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    George I have finished updating the handover notes for our team.
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    Alice Thank you. Should I call you if any questions come up?
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    George Yes, please contact me directly if you need anything.
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    Bella Here, a team assistant discusses an invitation email sent to
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    Bella clients. Listen for how the speaker includes two people.
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    George Did you send out the meeting details to the new clients?
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    Tutor Yes, I told them to contact David or me if times
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    Tutor do not suit.
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    George That sounds very clear and professional.
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    Bella The speaker correctly chooses me alongside David because
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    Bella both colleagues are the objects of the verb contact in that
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    Bella request. Evidence: Yes, I told them
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    Bella to contact David or me if times do not suit.
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    George Did you send out the meeting details to the new clients?
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    Tutor Yes, I told them to contact David or me if times
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    Tutor do not suit.
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    George That sounds very clear and professional.
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    Bella In this discussion, two staff members review a draft notice
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    Bella before printing. Notice which word needs to be changed.
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    Roger Look at the last line of this visitor guidance notice.
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    Jessica It says please contact myself for assistance.
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    Tutor We should change that to contact me because guests will contact
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    Tutor you.
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    Bella The speaker advises changing contact myself to contact
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    Bella me because visitors are the subject performing the action of
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    Bella contacting. Evidence: We should change that to
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    Bella contact me because guests will contact you.
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    Roger Look at the last line of this visitor guidance notice.
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    Jessica It says please contact myself for assistance.
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    Tutor We should change that to contact me because guests will contact
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    Tutor you.
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    Bella In this final conversation, two writers talk about creating
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    Bella web content. Listen for when myself is used correctly.
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    Roger The new website page looks wonderful and very clean.
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    Jessica Thank you. I wrote the introduction myself over the weekend.
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    Roger And at the end, did you invite readers to contact you?
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    Jessica Yes, I wrote please contact me with any feedback.
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    Bella The speaker uses myself correctly because it refers back
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    Bella to the subject I, adding emphasis to who wrote the text.
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    Bella Evidence: Thank you. I wrote the introduction
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    Bella myself over the weekend.
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    Roger The new website page looks wonderful and very clean.
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    Jessica Thank you. I wrote the introduction myself over the weekend.
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    Roger And at the end, did you invite readers to contact you?
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    Jessica Yes, I wrote please contact me with any feedback.
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    Bella Now it is your turn to speak. Say please contact me
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     Bella aloud with confidence, keeping the words smooth and connected.
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     Bella Many people use myself because they believe it sounds more
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     Bella formal or polite. However, using correct grammar
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     Bella makes your writing sound truly professional.
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     Bella Even in formal business letters, you should write please
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     Bella contact me. Standard grammar rules apply equally
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     Bella to formal and informal writing.
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     Bella Both phrases are grammatically fine, but polite English
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     Bella style usually places the other person first, giving contact
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     Bella John or me.
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     Bella A great trick is to remove the other name from your sentence.
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     Bella Since contact me is clearly correct, contact John
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     Bella and me is correct too.
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     Bella Myself belongs only where the person doing the action is I.
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     Bella You can say I made it myself or I
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     Bella reminded myself.
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     Bella Yes, verbs like email, call, notify,
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     Bella and reach follow the exact same rule. You should use
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     Bella me whenever someone else contacts you.
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     Bella Continue your study with our interactive tools. Visit Watch
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     Bella for video lessons, and try our Practice exercises. Explore
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     Bella the dictation library, or chat with the AI Tutor using your
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     Bella credits. You can also join our free public social hub
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     Bella to meet other learners.
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     Bella You now know that please contact me is the standard
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     Bella natural phrase when asking someone to reach you. Keep your
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     Bella messages simple, clear, and accurate.

Choose an answer for each question, then check it.

1. Question 1

   You are writing a flyer for a neighborhood repair event. Which sentence correctly asks visitors to reach you?

   A Please contact me with questions about broken appliances. B Please contact myself with questions about broken appliances. C Please contact to me with questions about broken appliances.
   Check my answer Chat with the tutor