Dave in Elkland, Pa., wrote to me recently about pronouns ending in “self” — myself, yourself, and so on — and how annoying they can be at times. “‘Myself,’ in particular, drives me near distraction,” ...

In all your years of hanging around with English speakers, you probably never heard someone say, “Come by the office and talk to myself” or “Would someone please tell myself what’s going on?” But ...

Reflection is generally a good thing, but it can be overdone — like spending too much time staring at yourself in a mirror. Similarly, reflexive pronouns, which play a distinctive role, can be ...