Use the word personal in a sentence

Chances are you’ve heard the phrase “I personally” in everyday casual conversation and most likely never took the time to really think about it. However, if you have given it some thought, you may wonder if it is a grammatically correct phrase, or redundant and shouldn’t be used at all.

From a formal standpoint, there is nothing in the rules that specify the phrase “I personally” is not structurally or grammatically correct. However, stylistically there are contexts where it is more appropriate and scholarly accepted among grammar experts than others.

The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage Guide written by lexicographer Robert Burchfield has served as a standard for over 70 years for practical help with grammar. Burchfield addresses this phrase within his guide and has specific ideas about the proper usage.

Within the guide, Burchfield states “the legitimate uses of personally are (a) to signify that something was done by or to someone in person and not through an agent or deputy and (b) to exclude considerations other than personal.”

He further explains that “the equivalent of (speaking) for myself, etc. is more debatable and is best reserved for informal contexts and best avoided in formal correspondence.”

Is “I Personally” Redundant?

The phrase “I personally” is not redundant when used in one of the two ways specified by Burchfield in the New Fowler’s Modern English Usage Guide, but can be considered redundant when used to indicate “speaking for myself.”

Let’s look again specifically at what Burchfield wrote with regard to the aspect of redundancy when using “I personally” to indicate “speaking for myself.” He states, “do not be surprised to find personally used in this seemingly redundant manner in conversational or informal passages.”

Thus, it can be stated that in certain contexts the phrase is redundant by nature, which may mean its use is not ideal stylistically, but it is still a commonly used expression and not grammatically incorrect. So it mostly comes down to a matter of preference and context of use (formal or informal).

How Do You Punctuate “I Personally”?

Although you will commonly see people insert a comma within the phrase “I personally” it is not grammatically correct based on the rules for when and how commas should be used in sentences. Therefore, you should not use a comma or other punctuation within this phrase.

Many people insert commas into sentences when they want to indicate a pause in speech or automatically after an adverb clause at the beginning of a sentence. In this case the phrase “I personally” does function as an adverb clause in the sentence, but it is so short that it does not warrant a comma.

• I personally saw the accident happen and can verify that the car who caused it didn’t stop.

Notice that the sentence above does not have a danger of being misread without the use of the comma and that adding a comma after “personally” would not add any clarifying value.

What Does “I Personally” Mean?

The phrase “I personally” means one of the following things: (1) something was done by or to you in person, (2) you were not included in a decision, process, or consideration and (3) to indicate that you are speaking for yourself (the seemingly redundant, but still popular, use).

Let’s explore these three meanings with some concrete example sentences to obtain a better understanding of the difference.

Something Was Done By You Or To You In Person:

• I personally was served the court papers by the sheriff.
• I personally tried all of the flavors of cake and decided that I liked the chocolate one best.
• I personally put the papers on top of your desk this morning and cannot understand how they are missing.

To State That You Were Not Included In A Decision Or Process:

• The rest of the team decided that we would not play the game today even though I personally was excluded from the vote.
• I personally was not involved in selecting the paint colors for the house but find that they suit my style quite well.
• I welcome the decision made to shorten the work day even though I was not personally involved.

To Indicate That You Are Speaking For Yourself:

• I personally don’t approve of the outfit that you’re wearing, but if you think it’s appropriate for the party it’s your choice.
• I personally would have never chosen to go there for vacation because I’ve heard so many negative things about the experience.
• I personally wouldn’t take that route to get there, but if you think it’s the best way I won’t stop you.

Examples Of How To Use “I Personally” In A Sentence

As we saw in the previous examples, there are numerous ways to use “I personally” in a sentence depending on the message you want to convey to your audience and it is quite a popular phrase to indicate numerous things relating to self and preferences.

Let’s look at some other example sentences.

• Although I personally like pumpkin pie the best, everyone else in my family prefers apple pie.
• I made it clear that I personally wanted to go see a movie tonight, but everyone else decided we should go bowling.
• I personally enjoyed the food at the new restaurant in town and would definitely go back there again soon.
• I personally think that the candidate is a poor choice even though the majority of people think otherwise.
• I personally believe that everyone should take a year to travel before entering university because it provides such great learning and cultural experiences.

Should I Use “I Personally” Or “Personally I”

Both of these phrases mean the same thing. Therefore, you can use either “I personally,” or “personally I,” interchangeably within a sentence. The selection comes down to your personal writing or speaking style and preference. Both are grammatically correct and do not change the meaning of the sentence.

There is one change that you want to make if you decide to use the phrase “Personally I.” In using this phrase, it would be appropriate to use a comma after the word “personally.”

Look at the two example sentences and see how they mean the same thing regardless of which phrase is used.

• I personally am going to wait until the beginning of the new year before I start to look for a new job.
• Personally, I am going to wait until the beginning of the new year before I start to look for a new job.

Notice the comma after “personally” in the second sentence but not in the first one.

Is “Me Personally” Correct?

It is not grammatically correct to use the phrase “me personally” at the beginning of a sentence in the same way that you can utilize “I personally,” however, the phrase “me personally” can be used within another position in the sentence.

Let’s look at the reasoning behind this explanation. When you write a sentence using one of these phrases, you need to make sure that if you remove the adverb “personally,” the rest of the sentence still makes sense.

For Example:

• I personally would rather walk than drive to the store if it is close to the house.

In this example if you removed the word “personally” the sentence would still make sense.

• I would rather walk than drive to the store if it is close to the house.

However, if you replaced the word “I” with “me,” the sentence would not only be awkward sounding, but also grammatically incorrect because you should never start a sentence with the pronoun “me.”

In parts of the sentence other than the beginning, you can use the phrase “me personally” and it makes sense grammatically.

For Example:

• I could tell that the subtle comment by my boss was addressed to me personally, even though she didn’t specifically indicate that fact.

Notice that in the example here if you remove the adverb “personally” the sentence still makes sense.

• I could tell that the subtle comment by my boss was addressed to me, even though she didn’t specifically indicate that fact.

In this example, you would not be able to use the phrase “I personally” because like indicated above, it would be the wrong pronoun choice for the position in the sentence.

Do “I Personally” And “I Myself” Mean The Same?

The phrases “I personally” and “I myself” are synonyms and can be used interchangeably. Even though both “I” and “myself” are pronouns they can be applied together in a grammatically correct manner for this particular expression because “myself” is used as an “intensive pronoun” rather than a “reflexive pronoun.”

An “intensive pronoun” adds emphasis to the subject of the sentence and usually appears right after the pronoun that it modifies, such as in the expression “I myself.” If it is removed from the sentence, the sentence will still make sense -just like when we removed “personally.”

For Example:

• I myself like to go for a walk after eating dinner, but my husband doesn’t like to walk with a full stomach.

If you replace the phrase “I myself” with “I personally” in the sentence it still holds the same meaning proving that they are interchangeable.

• I personally like to go for a walk after eating dinner, but my husband doesn’t like to walk with a full stomach.

When Should I Use “For Me Personally”?

The phrase “for me personally,” is similar to “me personally.” You should avoid it at the beginning of a sentence even though, in this case, it is not grammatically incorrect to use it there. In either instance, this phrase is colloquial sounding and should be reserved for casual conversation.

The reason that you can use “for me personally” at the beginning of the sentence but not use “me personally” there is because if you remove the word “personally” the sentence still makes sense.

• For me personally the second movie in the trilogy was the best one.
• For me the second movie in the trilogy was the best one.

As long as the word “for” is kept before the pronoun “me,” the sentence still makes sense although stylistically it does not sound the best.

This phrase sounds better used in other places in the sentence, although as you can see from these examples, it tends to be very casual and conversational sounding.

• The second time I ran a marathon was more difficult for me personally than the first time.
• That style of clothing, although popular, is not for me personally.
• I know that many people enjoy eating sushi, but it is just not for me personally.

In these sentences if you remove the word “personally” the sentence still makes sense. So although you will hear people using this phrase in this manner, it does sound rather redundant.