By oneself的意思是"单独地"、"靠自己地"( alone or independently)。例:
His father lives by himself in the village.
All his friends have deserted him and he is all by himself now.
For oneself的意义为"为自己"(for himself or for herself)。例:
One should not live only for oneself.
In oneself的意思是"就其本身或本性而言"。例:
This wood is hard in itself.
Of oneself的意思是"自然地"、"自发地"、"自动地"(of one's own accord)。例:
Every day I awake of myself at half past five.
The door opened of itself.
The fire went out of itself.
与上列四个短语相类似的还有两个词组,即beside oneself和 to oneself,前者义:"失常"、"发狂";后者是"独自占有或享用"。例:
He was beside himself with joy.
When one dines in a restaurant,one likes a table to oneself.
Oneself和 one's self的区别也是值得我们注意的。Oneself是反身强调代词,意指自己;one's self则是代词加名词,意指个人的本性。它们的区别如同myself和my self;yourself和your self ;himself和his self;ourselves 和our selves ;themselves和their selves一样。例:
She made a cup of tea for herself.
She looked just like her old self.
请注意,myself可以在句中表示me的涵义,这是其他反身代词所没有的特性。例:
They invited my father and myself(=me)to their party.
He saw neither myself nor Mary in the street.