the ninth letter of the English alphabet
Please dot the is and cross the ts.
The teacher asked the children to write the letter i five times.
the symbol used in mathematics for the square root of minus one, called the imaginary unit
In complex numbers, i squared equals −1.
The engineer used 3 + 4i in her calculations.
the person who is speaking or writing, used as the subject of a verb
I love reading books before bed.
If I finish my work early, we can go to the park.
the Roman numeral for the number one
On the old clock, the hour one is marked with the Roman numeral I.
Chapter I of the book introduces the hero.
the object form of “I”; used when the speaker is the object of a verb or preposition, or after the verb “be” to identify the speaker
Could you help me with this box?
The teacher looked at me and smiled.
✦ Old English “mē”, accusative and dative form of “ic” (I), from Proto-Germanic *meke.
informal British: used in place of “me”, referring only to the speaker as the object of a verb or preposition
Give us a chance to explain before you decide.
Lend us your phone for a moment, mate.
✦ Extended from the standard object pronoun through dialectal speech patterns in British English.
the reflexive form of “I”, used as the object of a verb or preposition when the subject is also “I”
I hurt myself while chopping vegetables.
I taught myself to play the guitar by watching videos.
✦ Old English mī self, formed by combining the possessive "my" with "self".
used for emphasis to highlight that the speaker, and no one else, performs or experiences the action
I myself was surprised by the news.
I finished the project myself without any help.
✦ Same origin as the reflexive form; emphatic use developed later to stress the subject’s involvement.
