Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher , we will answer a question from Vietnam.
你好！本周在《请教老师》节目中，我们将回答一个来自越南的问题。
Can you explain it to me?
你能给我解释一下吗？
Thanks a lot.
多谢。
Bích Tiên, Vietnam.
Bích Tiên，越南。
Thank you for your question!
谢谢你的提问！
“Oneself” is a reflexive pronoun. A reflexive pronoun describes the subject of a sentence. We can use it when the subject and the object of the sentence describe the same person. Other reflexive pronouns include myself, yourself, herself, himself, and themselves.
“自己”是一个反身代词。反身代词描述句子的主语。当句子的主语和宾语描述同一个人时，我们可以使用它。其他反身代词包括我自己、你自己、她自己、他自己和他们自己。
“Oneself” is also a third-person singular pronoun, like herself or himself, but it does not show gender . It can describe a male or female.
“oneself”也是第三人称单数代词，如“shelf”或“self”，但不表示性别。它可以描述男性或女性。
Here is an example with “oneself.”
这是一个“oneself”的例子。
A selfie is a picture one takes of oneself.
自拍照是一个人为自己拍摄的照片。
In this example, the subject of the clause, “one,” is taking a picture of “oneself” and no one else. We can see “oneself” is describing the subject.
在此示例中，子句的主语“one”正在拍摄“oneself”的照片，而不是其他人。我们可以看到“自己”正在描述这个主题。
In American English, “oneself” is formal and rarely appears in everyday speech. It is mostly used in academic writing.
在美式英语中，“oneself”是正式的，很少出现在日常用语中。它主要用于学术写作。
Instead of “oneself,” most speakers use “yourself” when talking about another person directly in informal speech.
大多数说话者在非正式演讲中直接谈论另一个人时，都会使用“yourself”，而不是“oneself”。
When working from home, one often talks to oneself.
在家工作时，人们经常自言自语。
When working from home, you often talk to yourself.
在家工作时，您经常自言自语。
And now for “by oneself.”
现在是“自己”。
“By” is a preposition. Although it has other meanings, when used with a reflexive pronoun, it means alone or without help.
“by”是介词。虽然它还有其他含义，但与反身代词一起使用时，表示单独或没有帮助。
One could carry this television by oneself.
人们可以自己携带这台电视。
In this sentence, “One” does not need any help to carry the TV. One can do it alone.
在这句话中，“一”不需要任何帮助来搬运电视。一个人就可以做到。
We can rewrite this sentence in everyday speech.
我们可以用日常用语重写这句话。
You could carry this television by yourself.
您可以自己携带这台电视。
Sometimes we use a reflexive pronoun without “by”. This usage may have the same meaning as “by” + reflexive pronoun.
有时我们使用不带“by”的反身代词。这种用法可能与“by”+反身代词具有相同的含义。
You could carry the TV yourself.
你可以自己搬电视。
I hope these examples have helped you to understand the difference with reflexive pronouns and using “oneself!”
我希望这些例子能帮助您理解反身代词和使用“oneself！”的区别。
What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
您对美式英语有什么疑问？给我们发送电子邮件至learningenglish@voanews.com