Is it right to use ‘According to me’?

‘According to me’ is one of the most popular usages among the speakers of English in south Asian countries, especially in India. Though beautiful and of course nice to hear, this phrase is un-English.

But why?

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines the preposition ‘according to’ like this: as stated or reported by somebody/something. What does it mean? Well, ‘according to’ should be used to repeat a statement which was made by another, preferably a third person.

Let’s take an example to make it clear:

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration” is a very famous quote made by Edison. When you want to repeat this quote, you may say, ‘According to Edison, genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration’. Here you are repeating the statement made by a third person (Edison). So ‘according to’ can be used.

The sentence ‘According to Edison, genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration’ means ‘as stated by Edison, genius is……………………’

According to John Keats, ‘a thing of beauty is a joy for ever’

(As John Keats said, ‘a thing of beauty……………………..’)

According to Napoleon, ‘nothing is impossible’

(As Napoleon said, ‘nothing is……….’)

In all the examples above, the statements/opinions were made by a third person (Edison, Keats, Napoleon etc) and we are repeating or reporting them. That’s why we use ‘according to’.

Now, what’s wrong with ‘according to me’? When you say, ‘according to me, she is not reliable’, you are making your own opinion (not reporting a third person’s). Remember that ‘according to’ does not have the meaning ‘in my opinion’.

Apart from a third person, ‘according to’ can also be used with a third source such as a book, newspaper, TV channel and so on. For example, ‘according to BBC, the incident took place at midnight’, ‘According to the Holy Bible, drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of heaven’, ‘according to Bhagvad Gita, man is made by his belief’.