ENGLISH
REFERENCE

personally

adv. sent.
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //ˈpɝsənəɫi// UK //pˈɜːsənəli// per·son·al·ly General-service

adv. used to show that you are giving your own opinion. You can also use it when you do something yourself instead of asking someone else to do it.

adv. indicating that an opinion or action belongs to or is performed by a specific individual rather than a group or representative.


SIMPLE

Personally, I think the movie is too long.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager decided to personally oversee the project to ensure that no further mistakes were made.

COMPLEX

While the board of directors approved the merger, several senior partners were personally opposed to the deal, citing concerns about the long-term stability of the company.

Antonyms
Origin

From Middle English personally, personely, personallich, personaliche, equivalent to personal + -ly.

Usage

When used to introduce an opinion, it typically occupies the sentence-initial position followed by a comma.

Pitfall

I personally to go thereI will personally go thereLearners sometimes use 'personally' as a verb or before an infinitive; it must modify a verb or the whole sentence.

© 2026 English Reference