live by myself/alone/on my own

Question

Hello,I have heard all three of them used in everyday conversations, but I think that "I live alone" works best. Do by myself and on my own work for you?

GPY · Accepted Answer

All three are natural English and mean more or less the same. For me, "alone" has a slightly more emotive nuance than the other two.

Gene93 · Answer

Oh, I see. It sounds depressing in a way, doesn't it?

Anonymous · Answer

The three have different nuances and are not used in the same way.

"I live alone." is for when you live in a dwelling and you're the only person occupying that dwelling.

"I live on my own." is for a young person, say, under the age of 19, who might ordinarily be expected to be still living with his family. But no, he manages to support himself in his own dwelling, away from his parents. Note: this does not necessarily mean that he is the only person occupying his dwelling. The key point here is that he is very young, and yet living away from his parents, at an age where he might be expected to be still living at home.

"I live by myself." is for a person who might ordinarily be expected to be married, or paired up, say, a very beautiful woman, working at a job that does not pay well. People who meet her for the first time will tend to talk to her as though they're talking to a married or paired up woman. And they're surprised when she says: "(No, I'm not married or paired up,) I live by myself."

GPY · Answer

Gene93Oh, I see. It sounds depressing in a way, doesn't it?

Could do.

Fivejedjon · Answer

AnonymousThe three have different nuances and are not used in the same way.

I do not feel the nuances you do.

GPY · Answer

fivejedjonI do not feel the nuances you do.

I can't really see them either.

live by myself/alone/on my own

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