搭配一 among oneself

　　該搭配中的反身代詞通常為ourselves, themselves，且通常與動詞agree, argue, quarrel, decide, divide, talk 等搭配，表示“彼此”“互相”“……之間”之類的意思。如：

　　They were busy arguing among themselves. 他們忙著互相爭論。

　　We were always quarrelling among ourselves. 我們之間老是互相爭吵。

　　They talked among themselves while they waited. 他們一邊等著一邊互相談話。

　　Volunteers divided the different jobs among themselves. 志愿者們分擔各種不同的工作。

　　The trainees decide among themselves what programs to take. 受訓者自行選擇所學課程。

　　The trouble was they couldn’t agree among themselves. 麻煩的是他們自己不能取得一致的意見。

　　有時也與discussion, dispute等名詞搭配。如：

　　They had a heated discussion among themselves. 他們之間進行了熱烈的討論。

　　They tried to settle disputes among themselves. 他們試圖解決彼此之間的糾紛。

　　搭配二 between ourselves

　　該搭配為英語中的固定短語，意思是“勿與外人道私下說的話”“咱們私下說說(不足為外人道)”等，在具體語境中通常可以有比較靈活的翻譯。如：

　　All this is between ourselves. 這些我們只是私下說說。

　　Between ourselves, I think she’s a bit of a fool. 你可別對別人說啊，我覺得她有點兒傻。

　　Between ourselves, I don’t think he will live much longer. 咱們私下說說，他活不久了。

　　Between ourselves. I think Mr. Holmes had not quite got over his illness yet. 我們私下說說，我認為福爾摩斯先生病還沒完全好。

　　有時也說成between you and me，意思一樣。如：

　　Between you and me, I think he’s rather stupid. 這是我們私下里說的話，我認為他很笨。

　　搭配三 by oneself

　　該短語有以下三個意思：

　　一是表示“單獨地”“獨自地”，與alone同義。如：

　　I often like to spend time by myself. 我平常喜歡獨自消磨時間。

　　The dog was in the house by itself for several days. 狗在房子里單獨呆了幾天。

　　She is old enough to travel by herself. 她已經到了可以自己出門旅行的年齡了。

　　表示此義時有時還可用作表語。如：

　　My mother is by herself, so I must go home now. 我媽一個人在家，因此我得回家了。

　　二是表示“靠自己”“無他人幫助”，與without help同義。如：

　　I managed to do it by myself. 我是自己做成這件事的。

　　John managed to repair his car by himself. 約翰設法獨力修理自己的汽車。

　　There are many things one must do by oneself without depending on others. 有許多事情你必須自己去做，不能依靠別人。

　　三是表示“自動地”，主要用于 by itself，意思相當于automatically。如：

　　This is a machine that works by itself. 這是一臺自動工作的機器。

　　The door opens by itself as you approach it. 當你靠近時候門就會自動打開。

　　The machine will start by itself in a few seconds. 機器在幾秒鐘后會自動開啟。

　　搭配四 for oneself

　　該搭配主要有兩個方面的意思：

　　一是表示“自己”“親自”。如：

　　You can judge for yourself. 你可以自己做出判斷。

　　He has a fight to decide for himself. 他有權自己做決定。

　　He demanded the right to decide for himself. 他要求得到自己做決定的權力。

　　二是表示“為自己”“替自己”。如：

　　He made no complaint for himself. 他沒為自己訴苦。

　　He acted without thought for himself. 他那樣做的時候并沒考慮到自己。

　　She’s no shrinking violet—always ready to speak up for herself. 她可不膽小——任何場合都能為自己說話。

　　搭配五 in itself

　　該搭配的意思是“本質上”“實質上”“本身”。如：

　　He is not bad in himself. 他本質不壞。

　　The idea is not bad in itself. 這主意本身不錯。

　　Threading a needle is an art in itself. 穿針引線本身就是一種技巧。

　　You’ve managed to complete the course—that in itself is an achievement. 你設法修完了課程——這本身就是成績。

　　搭配六 to oneself

　　該搭配的基本意思是“獨自地”“單獨地”“給自己用”，通常與某些動詞配合使用，其含義也往往受所搭配動詞意思的影響。如：

　　1. cry to oneself 哭著對自己說

　　Oh Ned, Nancy cried to herself, why did you have to leave me? 哦，內德，南希還哭著對自己說，你為什么一定得離開我呢?

　　2. have something to oneself 獨自享用某物

　　I have the whole day to myself. 今天整天都是屬于我自己的。

　　With my parents away I’ve got the house to myself. 由于我父母不在，我可以獨自使用這所房子。

　　3. keep (oneself) to oneself 不與人交往

　　Nobody knows much about him; he keeps himself very much to himself. 誰都不太了解他，因為他很少與人來往。

　　4. say to oneself 心里想

　　So I said to myself, “It’s time I left.” 所以我想：“我該走了。”

　　I woke up early and said to myself, “Shall I get up?” 我很早就醒來了，心里想：“要不要起床呢?”

　　注意：say to oneself與speak to oneself大致同義，主要指“說給自己聽”“在心里想著”，其“自言自語”的成分比較少。若要表示“自言自語”(強調出聲)，可用talk to oneself。如：

　　He was probably talking to himself, which he often did now. 他也許在自言自語，他現在常常如此。

　　When she was old, she would sit in the corner talking to herself for hours. 在她年老時，她老坐在角落里自言自語，一說就是幾個小時。

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