Well, I made a name for myself.
“for myself” is a prepositional phrase that acts as an adverbial modifier of the verb “made”. It consists of the preposition “for” and the reflexive pronoun “myself”, which refers back to the subject “I”. This sentence is C2 because it also has an idiomatic meaning, which is to become famous or respected by a lot of people.
Here’s another C2 idiomatic expression, this time in the imperative form without the pronoun subject ‘you’:
Keep that to yourself.
Well, I thought you must need some time to yourself.
In this C1 example, ‘time to yourself’ means for ‘you’ only. ‘all’ can be used to emphasize this even more:
Maybe he wanted her all to himself.
Emphasis can be given with no words between the subject pronoun and the reflexive pronoun. Here is a B2 example:
To him, she herself is worthless.
There are three very similar B1 points in the English Grammar Profile in the category of PRONOUNS/singular reflexive
Point 45 is defined as:
‘myself’, ‘yourself’, ‘himself’ and ‘herself’ after prepositions where the object of the preposition is the same as the subject of the verb.
Point 65 is:
‘myself’, ‘yourself’, ‘himself’ and ‘herself’ for emphasis.
Point 67 is:
‘myself’, ‘yourself’, ‘himself’ and ‘herself’ with ‘by’ to mean alone, without any help.
*note that ‘by itself’ is listed at B2
A search in iWeb corpus:
* * * _I _PPX1
1 MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF 4334
2 YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF 4245
3 TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF 3551
4 , IN AND OF ITSELF 2999
5 , I THOUGHT TO MYSELF 2361
6 YOU CAN SEE FOR YOURSELF 2216
7 . I THOUGHT TO MYSELF 2093
The English Vocabulary Profile would say this is A2 = the reflexive form of the pronouns ‘me’ or ‘I’
if I could get through that one,
I could probably read the rest.
8 MADE A NAME FOR ITSELF 1842
9 CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF 1830
10 WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF 1775
11 MAKE A NAME FOR HIMSELF 1679
12 MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF 1481
13 TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF 1376
14 TRY IT OUT FOR YOURSELF 1287
15 MADE A NAME FOR HERSELF 1283
16 TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF 1232
17 A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF 1213
18 US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF 1205
19 YOU CAN DO FOR YOURSELF 1195
20 AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF 1135
21 ” I THOUGHT TO MYSELF 1108
22 TO BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF 1086
23 YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF 1085
24 THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF 1046
25 . TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF 1025
26 MAKE A NAME FOR YOURSELF 1022
27 US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF 1005
28 LIKE TO THINK OF MYSELF 998
29 , I SAID TO MYSELF 995
30 THAT IN AND OF ITSELF 994
31 YOU CAN DECIDE FOR YOURSELF 943
32 AS AN END IN ITSELF 940
33 BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF 931
34 . I SAID TO MYSELF 917
35 I TOOK IT UPON MYSELF 910
36 AND FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF 907
37 NOT AN END IN ITSELF 856
38 IN A CLASS BY ITSELF 850
39 CAN ONLY SPEAK FOR MYSELF 835
40 YOU TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF 827
41 TO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF 769
42 TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOURSELF 747
43 I WAS THINKING TO MYSELF 743
44 . BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF 730
45 YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF 725
46 AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF 715
47 SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF 709
48 ” I SAID TO MYSELF 697
49 TO STAND UP FOR YOURSELF 694
50 LEARNED A LOT ABOUT MYSELF 686
51 TO TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF 679
52 WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF 672
53 HAVE TO DECIDE FOR YOURSELF 659
54 TO FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF 652
55 TO TAKE CARE OF HERSELF 629
56 AND I SAID TO MYSELF 601
57 TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF 594
58 HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOURSELF 593
59 TO TRY IT FOR YOURSELF 579
60 TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF 577
61 MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF 569
62 . TRY IT FOR YOURSELF 563
63 MAKING A NAME FOR ITSELF 557
64 IT WILL PAY FOR ITSELF 542
65 NOT IN AND OF ITSELF 540
66 STACKED ON TOP OF ONE 526
67 , I THINK TO MYSELF 513
68 BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF 500
69 MAKING A NAME FOR HERSELF 490
70 TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF 490
71 , AND SEE FOR YOURSELF 487
72 , AND THAT IN ITSELF 476
73 I REMEMBER THINKING TO MYSELF 473
74 IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO ONE 470
75 ‘M GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF 469
76 COME AND SEE FOR YOURSELF 465
77 . SEE FOR YOURSELF 460
78 HE TOOK IT UPON HIMSELF 460
79 HAVE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF 459
80 THE BEST VERSION OF MYSELF 457
81 TO BE TRUE TO YOURSELF 449
82 TAKE SOME TIME FOR YOURSELF 447
83 WHICH IN AND OF ITSELF 444
84 THE INFORMATION JUST FOR YOURSELF 440
85 IS IN AND OF ITSELF 437
86 AND SEE IT FOR YOURSELF 433
87 , TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF 424
88 MAKE IT EASIER ON YOURSELF 419
89 MAKE A FOOL OF MYSELF 414
90 . AS FOR MYSELF 411
91 AND TRY IT FOR YOURSELF 407
92 I THOUGHT TO MYSELF 406
93 MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF 406
94 TO FIND OUT FOR MYSELF 402
95 TO EXPERIENCE IT FOR YOURSELF 395
96 YOU CAN JUDGE FOR YOURSELF 389
97 MAKE A NAME FOR HERSELF 388
98 HAS TAKEN IT UPON HIMSELF 385
99 TO STAND UP FOR MYSELF 385
100 BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF 380
A2 Vocabulary in the above:
bit, by, care, check, decide, herself, himself, information, itself, just, myself, out, should, so, top, true, try, yourself
B1:
ahead, ashamed, experience, fool, honest, judge, owe, upon
* * * by _PPX1
1 IN A CLASS BY ITSELF 850
2 ON A LINE BY ITSELF 371
3 CAN BE USED BY ITSELF 343
4 DOES NOT , BY ITSELF 270
5 TO DO IT BY YOURSELF 228
6 DO IT ALL BY YOURSELF 227
7 TO DO IT BY MYSELF 186
8 IN A CLASS BY HIMSELF 167
9 CAN DO IT BY YOURSELF 158
10 IS NOT , BY ITSELF 145
11 YOU CAN DO BY YOURSELF 139
12 I DID IT BY MYSELF 116
13 ENTRY FOB ALARM BY YOURSELF 115
14 DO IT ALL BY HIMSELF 109
15 DO IT ALL BY MYSELF 97
16 TO DO EVERYTHING BY YOURSELF 95
17 A CLASS ALL BY ITSELF 95
18 CAN BE DONE BY YOURSELF 90
19 . I WAS BY MYSELF 89
20 DID IT ALL BY MYSELF 87
21 IS NOT ENOUGH BY ITSELF 83
22 WILL GO AWAY BY ITSELF 80
23 NOT BE USED BY ITSELF 76
24 TO DO THIS BY MYSELF 76
25 TO DO THIS BY YOURSELF 75
26 N’T DO IT BY MYSELF 73
27 IS NOT SUFFICIENT BY ITSELF 67
28 CAN BE WORN BY ITSELF 65
29 I WAS THERE BY MYSELF 64
30 I WAS ALL BY MYSELF 61
31 TO DO IT BY HIMSELF 61
32 WILL NOT , BY ITSELF 60
33 CAN DO IT BY MYSELF 58
34 N’T DO IT BY YOURSELF 56
35 IN A ROOM BY MYSELF 55
36 THE WHOLE THING BY MYSELF 54
37 CAN DO THIS BY YOURSELF 53
38 IN A CLASS BY HERSELF 53
39 DID IT ALL BY HIMSELF 52
40 CAN NOT , BY ITSELF 52
41 IF YOU ARE BY YOURSELF 52
42 YOU DO IT BY YOURSELF 52
43 TO DO EVERYTHING BY MYSELF 50
44 IF YOU ‘RE BY YOURSELF 50
45 . THAT , BY ITSELF 49
46 IN A PLACE BY ITSELF 48
47 TO BE USED BY ITSELF 47
48 ON AND OFF BY ITSELF 47
* * * _VV _PPX1
1 . IF YOU FIND YOURSELF 8828
2 IF YOU FIND YOURSELF 6601
3 , YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF 5252
4 YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF 3354
5 , YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF 3003
6 YOU NEED TO ASK YOURSELF 3000
7 , YOU ‘LL FIND YOURSELF 2608
8 , YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF 2426
9 , IF YOU FIND YOURSELF 2209
10 IF YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF 2135
11 WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF 1769
12 . YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF 1678
13 , AND I FOUND MYSELF 1677
14 AND YOU ‘VE GOT YOURSELF 1619
15 AND YOU ‘LL FIND YOURSELF 1542
16 I DO N’T SEE MYSELF 1450
17 YOU MAY BE ASKING YOURSELF 1411
18 I DO N’T CONSIDER MYSELF 1383
19 NEXT TIME YOU FIND YOURSELF 1375
20 I HAVE TO REMIND MYSELF 1363
21 DO YOU FIND YOURSELF 1313
22 AND YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF 1256
23 , YOU COULD FIND YOURSELF 1234
24 . I FOUND MYSELF 1225
25 . I FIND MYSELF 1193
26 IF YOU DO FIND YOURSELF 1172
27 . YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF 1115
28 AND YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF 1057
29 BUT IF YOU FIND YOURSELF 1057
30 , AND I FIND MYSELF 1055
31 SO IF YOU FIND YOURSELF 1028
32 I CA N’T BRING MYSELF 1020
33 HAVE YOU EVER FOUND YOURSELF 993
34 YOU MIGHT BE ASKING YOURSELF 993
35 TO GET TO KNOW ONE 959
36 . I CONSIDER MYSELF 946
37 , YOU CAN SAVE YOURSELF 945
38 , BUT I FIND MYSELF 926
39 , BUT I FOUND MYSELF 915
40 I CA N’T SEE MYSELF 901
41 . YOU ‘LL FIND YOURSELF 900
42 I DO NT CONSIDER MYSELF 842
43 . WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF 810
44 . I OFTEN FIND MYSELF 779
45 I COULD N’T BRING MYSELF 775
46 I COULD N’T HELP MYSELF 770
47 , I OFTEN FIND MYSELF 761
48 CAN DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF 742
49 HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF 730
50 I CA N’T HELP MYSELF 727
51 AND IF YOU FIND YOURSELF 726
52 DO YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF 706
53 , AND YOU FIND YOURSELF 702
54 , YOU CAN FIND YOURSELF 702
55 BEST WAY TO PROTECT YOURSELF 698
56 I DO NT SEE MYSELF 695
57 ? DO YOU FIND YOURSELF 686
58 . YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF 685
59 . I CAN SEE MYSELF 665
60 HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF 664
61 QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF 636
62 WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF 629
63 , YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF 611
64 YOU NEED TO GET YOURSELF 596
65 , I HAVE FOUND MYSELF 594
66 YOU SHOULD BE ASKING YOURSELF 585
67 JUST CA N’T BRING MYSELF 577
68 I DO NOT CONSIDER MYSELF 550
69 , I STILL FIND MYSELF 534
70 YOU NEED TO PROTECT YOURSELF 520
71 DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF 515
72 IN ORDER TO PROTECT YOURSELF 510
73 HAVE YOU EVER ASKED YOURSELF 509
74 WHAT I WAS GETTING MYSELF 507
75 AND YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF 505
76 WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTS ITSELF 500
77 YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF 495
78 , I ‘VE FOUND MYSELF 490
79 . DO N’T LET YOURSELF 480
80 SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF 475
81 I HAD TO REMIND MYSELF 473
82 . I KEEP TELLING MYSELF 468
83 I HAVE TO FORCE MYSELF 466
84 AND HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF 462
85 YOU NEED TO GIVE YOURSELF 454
86 – IF YOU FIND YOURSELF 449
87 YOU HAVE TO PUT YOURSELF 442
88 YOU WANT TO GIVE YOURSELF 438
89 HOW YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF 435
90 YOU HAPPEN TO FIND YOURSELF 435
91 I HAD TO FORCE MYSELF 430
92 I HAVE TO ASK MYSELF 430
93 ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF 428
94 IF YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF 423
95 I TRY TO REMIND MYSELF 423
96 HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF 411
97 . IF YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF 408
98 , AND YOUVE GOT YOURSELF 406
99 I HAD TO ASK MYSELF 406
100 . TO PROTECT YOURSELF 400
Vocabulary in the second two searches:
A2: bring, could, describe, ever, happen, if, just, keep, let, might, order, save, should, so, still, try, way
B1: allow, consider, introduce, opportunity, protect, remind
PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLES:
One of the things that contributed to my success was that I read a lot of books and magazines
that introduce how to trim your pets’ fur by yourself.
Chinese, Female, Level 3, Writing Class.
I have to do everything by myself.
Chinese, Male, Level 3, Writing Class.
EXPERT EXAMPLES:
By gaining the trust of the Spaniards,
he did not only guarantee safety and prosperity for himself
but also for his family.
Duguid sought to bring a class-action lawsuit
on behalf of himself and others
who faced the same alleged abuse.
In the second exam,
I got 14 marks out of 100 and was quite pleased with myself.
I thought to myself if a mouse speaking like an American and dressing like one can be normal for an American child,
why not Hanuman and Ravana?
Here are iWeb search results for:
_NN _II _PPX
1 INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF 4811
2 END IN ITSELF 3585
3 PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF 2470
4 INFORMATION ABOUT THEMSELVES 1821
5 ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES 1707
6 ATTENTION TO YOURSELF 1546
7 ATTENTION TO ITSELF 1501
8 PROXIMITY TO EACH 1440 each other
9 CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELF 1412
10 PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF 1367
11 PRESSURE ON MYSELF 1343
12 TIME TO YOURSELF 1294
13 PRESSURE ON YOURSELF 1235
14 KIND TO YOURSELF 1224
15 THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF 1212
16 CONFIDENCE IN MYSELF 1204
17 BIT ABOUT YOURSELF 1198
18 TIME TO MYSELF 1189
19 EXPERIENCE IN ITSELF 1052
20 COMMITMENT TO EACH 1031
21 RELATIONSHIP TO EACH 1028
22 DISTANCE FROM EACH 1021
23 ATTENTION TO HIMSELF 993
24 CONFIDENCE IN THEMSELVES 989
25 THINGS ABOUT MYSELF 987
26 FAITH IN YOURSELF 969
27 CLASS BY ITSELF 964
28 ART IN ITSELF 952
29 DANGER TO THEMSELVES 951
30 ANGLES TO EACH 921
31 THING IN ITSELF 905
32 LOOK AT YOURSELF 899
33 PROXIMITY TO ONE 867
34 STORY IN ITSELF 862
35 GUN ON HIMSELF 849
36 CHALLENGE IN ITSELF 785
37 LOT ABOUT MYSELF 780
38 FEAT IN ITSELF 714
39 DANGER TO HIMSELF 712
40 PROMISE TO MYSELF 686
41 THINGS IN THEMSELVES 676
42 ACHIEVEMENT IN ITSELF 656
43 BELIEF IN YOURSELF 654
44 JOB IN ITSELF 645
45 GIFT TO MYSELF 631
46 DESTINATION IN ITSELF 616
47 DOOR TO EACH 616
48 LOOK AT EACH 613
49 BANK ON YOURSELF 612
50 THINGS TO EACH 610
51 COMMITMENT TO YOURSELF 601
52 PRESENT TO MYSELF 598
53 PROBLEM IN ITSELF 594
54 CONFIDENCE IN HIMSELF 583
55 MESSAGES TO EACH 577
56 THINGS ABOUT THEMSELVES 573
57 RISK TO THEMSELVES 566
58 ATTENTION TO MYSELF 548
59 ADVENTURE IN ITSELF 547
60 PEOPLE INCLUDING MYSELF 543
61 RELATION TO EACH 536
62 IDEAS OFF EACH 535
63 MEAL IN ITSELF 522
64 HARM TO THEMSELVES 516
65 PLACE TO OURSELVES 514
66 PRESSURE ON OURSELVES 509
67 INVESTMENT IN YOURSELF 504
68 RELATIONSHIP TO ONE 500
69 ARMS AROUND EACH 497
70 GIFT TO YOURSELF 497
71 TALK TO EACH 497
72 TIME TO THEMSELVES 497
73 COMMITMENT TO ONE 489 one another
74 LOOK AT THEMSELVES 489
75 DISTANCE BETWEEN THEMSELVES 488
76 LINE BY ITSELF 477
77 QUESTIONS ABOUT YOURSELF 468
78 ATTENTION TO HERSELF 466
79 LOT ABOUT YOURSELF 463
80 TASK IN ITSELF 455
81 DETAILS ABOUT YOURSELF 428
82 KIND TO ONE 425
83 PLACE TO YOURSELF 425
84 PRESSURE ON THEMSELVES 424
85 PERSON LIKE MYSELF 412
86 BIT ABOUT MYSELF 409
87 OPPOSITION TO EACH 397
88 PEOPLE LIKE THEMSELVES 394
89 WAR AGAINST EACH 387
90 OTHERS LIKE MYSELF 384
91 DISTANCE BETWEEN HIMSELF 376
92 LAW UNTO THEMSELVES 372
93 THINGS TO YOURSELF 372
94 PLAYERS AGAINST EACH 370
95 INFORMATION ABOUT MYSELF 362
96 WORLD TO HIMSELF 362
97 PEOPLE TO HIMSELF 359
98 RELATIONSHIPS TO EACH 358
99 KIND TO EACH 353
100 THINGS ABOUT EACH 352
A search for:
_N all _II _PPX
1 CLASS ALL BY ITSELF 99
2 BEACH ALL TO YOURSELF 90
3 PLACE ALL TO YOURSELF 63
4 MEAL ALL BY ITSELF 46
5 ROOM ALL TO YOURSELF 42
6 PLACE ALL TO OURSELVES 41
7 ROOM ALL TO MYSELF 41
8 CLASS ALL BY THEMSELVES 38
9 CATEGORY ALL BY ITSELF 34
10 PROBLEM ALL BY ITSELF 31
11 ALL BY ITSELF 29
12 PLACE ALL TO MYSELF 29
13 HOUSE ALL TO MYSELF 28
14 ISLAND ALL TO YOURSELF 27
15 GAME ALL BY HIMSELF 27
16 CLASS ALL BY HIMSELF 27
17 ARTICLE ALL BY ITSELF 27
18 STORY ALL BY ITSELF 26
19 BEACH ALL TO OURSELVES 25
20 ROOM ALL BY MYSELF 25
A search in the EVP for:
to yourself
