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  1. I would like to look for it myself.

  2. I would like to look for it by myself.

What is the difference between the two sentences above?

Cardinal
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Y. zeng
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    In some contexts including *by* wouldn't affect the meaning. In others, plain *myself* might be simply *emphatic* (although other people might have seen it, I won't believe it until I've seen it *with my own eyes). Including by* would normally imply I want to look at it in private** (with nobody else around at the time). – FumbleFingers May 22 '19 at 13:58
  • Thus John did it himself implies that although you might have expected someone else to do it, *it was actually John* who did it. But John did it by* himself* implies *John did it alone* (usually, *without anyone else helping; sometimes with no-one else around*). – FumbleFingers May 22 '19 at 14:05
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    Possible duplicate of Difference between myself and by myself – FumbleFingers May 22 '19 at 14:06

1 Answers1

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Doing something "myself" indicated that I am the one doing it, in contrast with having someone else do it. "I know you said you couldn't find it, but I would like to look for it myself."

On the other hand, doing something "by myself" emphasizes that I am doing it alone, which can mean that no one is assisting me ("Please don't help. I would like to look for it by myself.") or that no other people are present ("Please leave the room. I would like to look for it by myself.").

geekahedron
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