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Taka Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Oneself

They all come here.

If the sentence has 'are' in it, 'all' comes after 'are' as:

They are all coming here.

Then what about this kind of 'oneself'?

I myself know that.

Which is correct?

I myself am familiar with that.
I am myself familiar with that.


  

Top answer

I am myself familiar with that. The first means that you too, not only your interlocutor, are familiar with that. The second means that you in addition to unnamed others are familiar with that.

— Enoon

  • I am myself familiar with that.
  • The first means that you too, not only your interlocutor, are familiar with that.
  • The second means that you in addition to unnamed others are familiar with that.
  • Those are only possible distinctions.
  • To infallibly convey those meanings would take more words.
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6 Answers
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TakaThen what about this kind of 'oneself'?I myself know that.Which is correct?I myself am familiar with that.I am myself familiar with that.
The first means that you too, not only your interlocutor, are familiar with that.

The second means that you in addition to unnamed others are familiar with that.

Those are only possible distinctions. To
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enoon in addition to unnamed others are familiar with that.
How come 'myself', the first person singular, implies unnamed others??
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Well, you have to ask yourself how it's different than "I am familiar with that." When you stress yourself, you imply others by contrast.
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AH! I see what you mean.

It's interesting that even if I stress 'myself', it won't imply that way if 'myself' comes right after the subject.

WIthout a 'be' verb, is it impossible to make such a difference with 'oneself'?
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Don't think that you can create meaning so easily. The position of the reflexive only tends to a certain meaning. I do think it works with other verbs, as far as it goes: "I (myself) think (myself) that Putin is a tyrant."
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enoon"I (myself) think (myself) that Putin is a tyrant."
The position of the reflexive doesn't really change the meaning of that example. I see.

Thanks, enoon!
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