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how to do it yourself

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ElmerRamone
United States of America

how to do it yourself

Post by ElmerRamone »

I'm having trouble trying to figure out the rules for saying myself, himself, ourselves, etc. It seems that for myself, it's 'a mi mismo/a', and for yourself (inf), it's 'a ti mismo', and for him/herself, it's 'a si mismo' (where does that come from?). But for ourselves and themselves, there's no corresponding phrase like this, Does anyone know where I can find out how this works?

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gmads
Mexico

Re: how to do it yourself

Post by gmads »

ElmerRamone wrote: Sun Jul 10, 2022 2:52 am

I'm having trouble trying to figure out the rules for saying myself, himself, ourselves, etc. It seems that for myself, it's 'a mi mismo/a', and for yourself (inf), it's 'a ti mismo', and for him/herself, it's 'a si mismo' (where does that come from?). But for ourselves and themselves, there's no corresponding phrase like this, Does anyone know where I can find out how this works?

Yes, there is.

*** Personal subject pronouns ***

To translate the English "pronoun-self", one uses "the personal subject pronouns + mismo" when they are not preceded by a preposition:

  • myself = yo mismo
  • yourself = mismo
  • himself = él mismo
  • herself = ella mismo
  • ourselves = nosotros mismos
  • yourselves = ustedes mismos/vosotros mismos
  • theirselves = ellos mismos
  • theirselves = ellas mismos

Examples:

– yo mismo arreglé el carro (I fixed the car myself)
– tú mismo hiciste el pastel (you made the cake yourself)
– él mismo logró el primer lugar (he himself achieved first place)
– ella misma escribió un libro (she herself wrote a book)
– nosotros mismos arreglamos el jardín (we fix the garden ourselves)
– ustedes mismos hicieron la tarea (you did the homework yourselves)
– vosotros mismos hicisteis la tarea (you did the homework yourselves)
– ellos mismos consiguieron el trabajo (they got the job themselves)
– ellas mismas decidieron estudiar (they themselves decided to study)

It is best to keep the "pronoun-mismo" at the beginning of the sentence, as shown in the examples, however, in general terms it may be possible to move it to the end of the sentence: hiciste el pastel tú mismo; decidieron estudiar ellas mismas.

*** Personal subject pronouns preceded by a preposition ***

Personal subject pronouns may be preceded by a preposition (like: a, con, de, por), in which case { yo, tú, él/ella } will change into { mí, ti, sí }, respectively, except when preceded by the prepositions: hasta y según.

  • myself = (prep.) mí mismo
  • yourself (informal) = (prep.) ti mismo
  • yourself (formal) = (prep.) usted mismo
  • himself = (prep.) sí mismo
  • herself = (prep.) sí misma
  • itself = (prep.) sí mismo
  • oneself = (prep.) uno mismo
  • ourselves = (prep.) nosotros mismos
  • yourselves = (prep.) ustedes mismos, (prep.) vosotros mismos
  • theirselves = (prep.) sí mismos
  • theirselves = (prep.) sí mismas

Examples:

hasta yo mismo lo entendí (even I understood it myself) ⇐ note that "yo" wasn't changed into "mí"
según mismo lo has dicho (as you yourself have said) ⇐ note that "tú" wasn't changed into "ti"
– lo hice por mismo (I did it myself)
– te dijiste a ti misma (you told yourself)
– le falta confianza en mismo (he lacks confidence in himself)
– no lo consideré en mismo (I did not consider it in itself)
– uno debe confiar en uno mismo (one must trust oneself)
– engañarse a uno mismo es muy fácil (deceiving oneself is very easy)
– se rieron de mismos (they laughed at themselves)

Important. Note that when the pronouns { mí, ti, sí } are preceded by the preposition "con," as in { con mí, con ti, con sí }, one should then use the consolidated terms { conmigo, contigo, consigo }, respectively.

  • con mí mismo → conmigo mismo
  • con ti mismo → contigo mismo
  • con sí mismo → consigo mismo
  • con sí misma → consigo misma
  • con sí mismos → consigo mismos
  • con sí mismas → consigo mismas

Examples:

– me siento bien conmigo mismo (I feel good about myself)
– estabas enojado contigo mismo (you were angry with yourself)
– hablaba consigo misma (she was talking with herself)
– hablaban consigo mismas (they were talking with themselves)

Please note that the previous exception regarding the pronouns { hasta, según } happens because "mismo" is not implying a reflexive action, but just an emphatic one. See how taking "mismo" out of the two previous sample sentences does not change their basic meaning.

– hasta yo lo entendí (even I understood it)
– según tú lo has dicho (as you have said)

For this same reason, this exception also applies for the third person (both singular and plural) when the person is not talking or referring to himself/herself, but when other one is doing it; in other words, when the agent (the one doing the action) and the patient (the one receiving the effect of the action) are not the same. Compare the following:

– [yo] hablé de ella misma
– [ella] hablaba de misma


Just a short addendum.

When referring to oneself, "mismo/a" is:

  • obligatory with reflexive verbs (pronominal verbs)
  • optional with non-reflexive verbs (non-pronominal verbs)

In Spanish one has the regular verb "cuidar" (to take care of something or someone, to assist someone), and the pronominal version "cuidarse" (4. prnl. Mirar uno por su salud o bienestar: to keep an eye on one's health and wellbeing).

  • usted no se cuida a sí mismo
    (pronominal verb, thus "mismo" needs to be present)

  • usted no se cuida a sí
    (pronominal verb, thus, "mismo" needed to be present)

  • gracias al instinto de supervivencia cada uno cuida de sí [mismo]
    (regular verb —non-pronominal verb—, thus, "mismo" is optional)


:hash:  ㆍespañol ㆍgramática

Last edited by gmads on Sun May 07, 2023 8:59 pm, edited 6 times in total.

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ElmerRamone
United States of America

Re: how to do it yourself

Post by ElmerRamone »

Thank you so much. I wasn't expecting such a thorough reply! Very much appreciated.

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gmads
Mexico

Re: how to do it yourself

Post by gmads »

ElmerRamone wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 3:22 pm

Thank you so much. I wasn't expecting such a thorough reply! Very much appreciated.

You are welcome.

The reflexive topic can get a bit more complicated, but this is a good start.

Cheers!

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