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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Are those sentences correct?

I couldn't help myself noticing Simon trying to get his car started.
I couldn't help noticing Simon trying to get his car started.
  

Top answer

The second is correct, the first is not.

  • The second is correct, the first is not.
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12 Answers
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The second is correct, the first is not.
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Could you give me the reason why using "myself" is incorrect?
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AnonymousCould you give me the reason why using "myself" is incorrect?
The reflexive pronouns are used to 'reflect' the action of the verb onto the subject of the sentence (I burnt myself on the stove) or occasionally as an intensifier (I myself did not see the accident). Neither seems to apply here.
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I goggled the phrase and found this:

The idiom can/could help Verb-ing is a Negative Polarity Item, which means it can only occur with a negative, but the negation is not part of the idiom.
The construction itself requires the verb phrase can help (or could help in th
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It is not among my options. Feel free to wait for other opinions.
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AnonymousHe couldn't/I can't help noticing the crane.*He/I may not help noticing the crane.*He/I won't help noticing the crane.*He couldn't/I can't assist noticing the crane.That's the idiomatic construction. It can optionally take a reflexive objectHe couldn't/I can't help himself/myself.
"I couldn't/can't help myself noticing the crane" is not natural
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I found this entry using Google:

This is a pretty good movie, I mean, if you like a story slowly revealed itself with heavy emotions and memories of a bereaved mother. But after I watched this movie, I couldn't help myself noticing several improper flaws in this movie.

What is more, there are about 29,500 instances (using quotation marks) found on the Interne
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AnonymousWhat is more, there are about 29,500 instances (using quotation marks) found on the Internet of the exact phrase: I couldn't help myself noticing.
I got 821,000 hits for "I ain't done nothing" and 693,000 for "I would of done it" (both in quotation marks). Are you going to claim those as acceptable?

Google searches are very useful for many thi
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fivejedjonI got 821,000 hits for "I ain't done nothing" and 693,000 for "I would of done it" (both in quotation marks). Are you going to claim those as acceptable?
And to add another one that still astonishes me, there are are 13 million results for Did that just happened? and only two million for the correct version.
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The movie review you cited contains numerous errors (for example the word revealed in the section you quoted) and would not be accepted by most as a good example of standard English usage. The internet may make it possible to find examples of a particular usage, in some cases thousands or even millions of examples, but it does not guarantee that the usage is one that would be employe

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