Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Junkomama]

"Now that you are not a small child, you should try to do everything by/for yourself."

Which is natural, "by" or "for"?

My dictionary says that both "by oneself" and "for oneself" can mean "without help". Don't they have any difference ?

Thank you in advance!
Junkomama

[fussy]

I am not sure that my opinion is correct.
Just join the discussion to check my idea.

"by yourself" means "you is the one who do it, not anyone else"

"for yourself" means the "everything" mentioned before is for you only, not for anyone else.

So they are different in meaning.

[CP]

"Now that you are not a small child, you should try to do everything by yourself." You should try to do everything without help from others, on your own.

"Now that you are not a small child, you should try to do everything for yourself." Used to mean the same thing as "for yourself"; also, you should try to do everything for your own advantage, with yourself in mind.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[lotus]

Hi Junkomama,

Other common phrases would be:

"Now that you're not a child, you should try to do things by yourself."

"Now that you're not a child, you should try to do things for yourself."

"You're not a child anymore. You can do things by yourself."

"You're not a child anymore. You've got to do things for yourself."

The difference between "by" and "for" is well discussed by Fussy.


--lotus

[Junkomama]

Thanks a lot for your reply, fussy-san, CP-san!
I got it.

Thank you for showing me the example sentences, lotus-san!
It's a great help.

Regards,
Junkomama