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Mari-Lou A
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EDIT
See usage note in Dictionary.com concerning myself vs. me

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. Many came to welcome my husband and myself back to Washington.
[...]
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, or a gift for my husband and myself instead of for my husband and me) is characteristic only of informal speech and that such use ought not to occur in writing.

EDIT
See usage note in Dictionary.com concerning myself vs. me

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. Many came to welcome my husband and myself back to Washington.
[...]
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, or a gift for my husband and myself instead of for my husband and me) is characteristic only of informal speech and that such use ought not to occur in writing.

made necessary correction "myself"---> "me"
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Mari-Lou A
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I gave you a picture of me

and the less grammatically correct but idiomatically common

I gave you a picture of myself

i.e., I gave you a picture of Mari-lou. It is a photo of me/myself, I am in that photo.

Likewise, the phrase I gave Susie a picture of herself means that the photo is of Susie's self; i.e., herself. She is in that photo.

You could say

I gave Susie a picture of Susie.

That works, although repetitive, it is grammatical. Susie is a relatively uncommon name so we would guess that the photo is an image of the same person but it might be that there are two Susies, who can tell? The reflexive pronoun herself removes the ambiguity.

Compare

  • I gave Susie a picture of her

Her could refer to Susie or to any woman, by using the reflexive pronoun, herself, we understand specifically who is in the photo.

  • I gave Susie a picture of me or myself (a photo of me)
    ...... /herself (a photo of Susie)
    ...... /himher (any manwoman)
    ...... /herhim (any womanman)
    ...... /us (no ambiguity, it is a photo of Susie and me)
    ...... /them (two or more people).

Exceptions

In some languages there are verbs that require the reflexive pronoun that are omitted in English. Examples are shave, wash, and dress. In Italian (and I believe in Spanish too) the subject performs these actions on him or herself, thus we have:

radersi to shave (oneself)

mi rado = I shave(myself)
ti radi = you shave (yourself)
si rade = he/she shaves (him/herself)
vi radete = (pl) you shave (yourselves) etc.

lavarsi to wash (oneself)

mi lavo = I wash (myself)
you lavi = you wash (yourself)
si lava = he/she washes (him/herself)
vi lavate = you wash (yourselves)

The British Council website succinctly explains:

NOTE: We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for themselves:

  1. He washed in cold water.
  2. He always shaved before going out in the evening.
  3. Michael dressed and got ready for the party.

We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:

He dressed himself in spite of his injuries.
She’s old enough to wash herself.

I gave you a picture of myself

i.e., I gave you a picture of Mari-lou. It is a photo of myself, I am in that photo.

Likewise, the phrase I gave Susie a picture of herself means that the photo is of Susie's self; i.e., herself. She is in that photo.

You could say

I gave Susie a picture of Susie.

That works, although repetitive, it is grammatical. Susie is a relatively uncommon name so we would guess that the photo is an image of the same person but it might be that there are two Susies, who can tell? The reflexive pronoun herself removes the ambiguity.

Compare

  • I gave Susie a picture of her

Her could refer to Susie or to any woman, by using the reflexive pronoun, herself, we understand specifically who is in the photo.

  • I gave Susie a picture of myself (a photo of me) /herself (a photo of Susie) /him (any man) /her (any woman) /us (no ambiguity, it is a photo of Susie and me) /them (two or more people).

Exceptions

In some languages there are verbs that require the reflexive pronoun that are omitted in English. Examples are shave, wash, and dress. In Italian (and I believe in Spanish too) the subject performs these actions on him or herself, thus we have:

radersi to shave (oneself)

mi rado = I shave(myself)
ti radi = you shave (yourself)
si rade = he/she shaves (him/herself)
vi radete = (pl) you shave (yourselves) etc.

lavarsi to wash (oneself)

mi lavo = I wash (myself)
you lavi = you wash (yourself)
si lava = he/she washes (him/herself)
vi lavate = you wash (yourselves)

The British Council website succinctly explains:

NOTE: We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for themselves:

  1. He washed in cold water.
  2. He always shaved before going out in the evening.
  3. Michael dressed and got ready for the party.

We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:

He dressed himself in spite of his injuries.
She’s old enough to wash herself.

I gave you a picture of me

and the less grammatically correct but idiomatically common

I gave you a picture of myself

i.e., I gave you a picture of Mari-lou. It is a photo of me/myself, I am in that photo.

Likewise, the phrase I gave Susie a picture of herself means that the photo is of Susie's self; i.e., herself. She is in that photo.

You could say

I gave Susie a picture of Susie.

That works, although repetitive, it is grammatical. Susie is a relatively uncommon name so we would guess that the photo is an image of the same person but it might be that there are two Susies, who can tell? The reflexive pronoun herself removes the ambiguity.

Compare

  • I gave Susie a picture of her

Her could refer to Susie or to any woman by using the reflexive pronoun, herself, we understand specifically who is in the photo.

  • I gave Susie a picture of me or myself (a photo of me)
    ...... herself (a photo of Susie)
    ...... her (any woman)
    ...... him (any man)
    ...... us (no ambiguity, it is a photo of Susie and me)
    ...... them (two or more people).

Exceptions

In some languages there are verbs that require the reflexive pronoun that are omitted in English. Examples are shave, wash, and dress. In Italian (and I believe in Spanish too) the subject performs these actions on him or herself, thus we have:

radersi to shave (oneself)

mi rado = I shave(myself)
ti radi = you shave (yourself)
si rade = he/she shaves (him/herself)
vi radete = (pl) you shave (yourselves) etc.

lavarsi to wash (oneself)

mi lavo = I wash (myself)
you lavi = you wash (yourself)
si lava = he/she washes (him/herself)
vi lavate = you wash (yourselves)

The British Council website succinctly explains:

NOTE: We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for themselves:

  1. He washed in cold water.
  2. He always shaved before going out in the evening.
  3. Michael dressed and got ready for the party.

We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:

He dressed himself in spite of his injuries.
She’s old enough to wash herself.

fixed typo
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Mari-Lou A
  • 92.9k
  • 92
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  • 590

I gave you a picture of myself

i.e., I gave you a picture of Mari-lou. It is a photo of myself, I am in that photo.

Likewise, the phrase I gave Susie a picture of herself means that the photo is of Susie's self; i.e., herself. She is in that photo.

You could say

I gave Susie a picture of Susie.

That works, although repetitive, it is grammatical. Susie is a relatively uncommon name so we would guess that the photo is an image of the same person but it might be that there are two Susies, who can tell? The reflexive pronoun herself removes the ambiguity.

Compare

  • I gave Susie a picture of her

Her could refer to Susie or to any woman, by using the reflexive pronoun, herself, we understand specificallyspecifically who is in the photo.

  • I gave Susie a picture of myself (a photo of me) /herself (a photo of Susie) /him (any man) /her (any woman) /us (no ambiguity, it is a photo of Susie and me) /them (two or more people).

Exceptions

In some languages there are verbs that require the reflexive pronoun that are omitted in English. Examples are shave, wash, and dress. In Italian (and I believe in Spanish too) the subject performs these actions on him or herself, thus we have:

radersi to shave (oneself)

mi rado = I shave(myself)
ti radi = you shave (yourself)
si rade = he/she shaves (him/herself)
vi radete = (pl) you shave (yourselves) etc.

lavarsi to wash (oneself)

mi lavo = I wash (myself)
yooyou lavi = you wash (yourself)
si lava = he/she washes (him/herself)
vi lavate = you wash (yourselves)

The British Council website succinctly explains:

NOTE: We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for themselves:

  1. He washed in cold water.
  2. He always shaved before going out in the evening.
  3. Michael dressed and got ready for the party.

We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:

He dressed himself in spite of his injuries.
She’s old enough to wash herself.

I gave you a picture of myself

i.e., I gave you a picture of Mari-lou. It is a photo of myself, I am in that photo.

Likewise, the phrase I gave Susie a picture of herself means that the photo is of Susie's self; i.e., herself. She is in that photo.

You could say

I gave Susie a picture of Susie.

That works, although repetitive, it is grammatical. Susie is a relatively uncommon name so we would guess that the photo is an image of the same person but it might be that there are two Susies, who can tell? The reflexive pronoun herself removes the ambiguity.

Compare

  • I gave Susie a picture of her

Her could refer to any woman, by using the reflexive pronoun, herself, we understand specifically who is in the photo.

  • I gave Susie a picture of myself (a photo of me) /herself (a photo of Susie) /him (any man) /her (any woman) /us (no ambiguity, it is a photo of Susie and me) /them (two or more people).

Exceptions

In some languages there are verbs that require the reflexive pronoun that are omitted in English. Examples are shave, wash, and dress. In Italian (and I believe in Spanish too) the subject performs these actions on him or herself, thus we have:

radersi to shave (oneself)

mi rado = I shave(myself)
ti radi = you shave (yourself)
vi radete = (pl) you shave (yourselves) etc.

lavarsi to wash (oneself)

mi lavo = I wash (myself)
yoo lavi = you wash (yourself)
si lava = he/she washes (him/herself)
vi lavate = you wash (yourselves)

The British Council website succinctly explains:

NOTE: We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for themselves:

  1. He washed in cold water.
  2. He always shaved before going out in the evening.
  3. Michael dressed and got ready for the party.

We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:

He dressed himself in spite of his injuries.
She’s old enough to wash herself.

I gave you a picture of myself

i.e., I gave you a picture of Mari-lou. It is a photo of myself, I am in that photo.

Likewise, the phrase I gave Susie a picture of herself means that the photo is of Susie's self; i.e., herself. She is in that photo.

You could say

I gave Susie a picture of Susie.

That works, although repetitive, it is grammatical. Susie is a relatively uncommon name so we would guess that the photo is an image of the same person but it might be that there are two Susies, who can tell? The reflexive pronoun herself removes the ambiguity.

Compare

  • I gave Susie a picture of her

Her could refer to Susie or to any woman, by using the reflexive pronoun, herself, we understand specifically who is in the photo.

  • I gave Susie a picture of myself (a photo of me) /herself (a photo of Susie) /him (any man) /her (any woman) /us (no ambiguity, it is a photo of Susie and me) /them (two or more people).

Exceptions

In some languages there are verbs that require the reflexive pronoun that are omitted in English. Examples are shave, wash, and dress. In Italian (and I believe in Spanish too) the subject performs these actions on him or herself, thus we have:

radersi to shave (oneself)

mi rado = I shave(myself)
ti radi = you shave (yourself)
si rade = he/she shaves (him/herself)
vi radete = (pl) you shave (yourselves) etc.

lavarsi to wash (oneself)

mi lavo = I wash (myself)
you lavi = you wash (yourself)
si lava = he/she washes (him/herself)
vi lavate = you wash (yourselves)

The British Council website succinctly explains:

NOTE: We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for themselves:

  1. He washed in cold water.
  2. He always shaved before going out in the evening.
  3. Michael dressed and got ready for the party.

We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:

He dressed himself in spite of his injuries.
She’s old enough to wash herself.

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Mari-Lou A
  • 92.9k
  • 92
  • 325
  • 590
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