Locution pronoun+même

 

In this aide-mémoire, we will highlight the particular pronoun structure combining a personal pronoun with the adjective “même”, which mirrors the use of the English structure combining a personal pronoun with “self/selves”.

 

These will account for 3-5 questions on the grammar test in various forms (fill in the blank, find the error) and is a structure you may use when speaking French, as it is fairly common.

 

What is important to remember is that the pronoun must be of the same gender and number as what it represents. In the same logic, the adjective “même” will become “mêmes” if the pronoun is plural.

 

		Sigular		Plural
		Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
1st person	Myself Ourselves	Moi-même Je fais moi-même mon potage. /I for myself make my own soup.		Nous-mêmes Diane et moi pouvons nous en occuper nous-mêmes. / Diane and I can take care of it ourselves.
2nd person	Yourself Yourselves	Toi-même Tu peux remplir le formulaire toi-même. / You can fill out the questionnaire yourself. Vous-même (politeness*) Madame, avez-vous choisi cette tenue vous-même? / Madam, have you chosen these clothes yourself?		Vous-mêmes   Si vous n’êtes pas contents, vous pouvez le faire vous-mêmes! / If you aren’t happy, you can all do it yourselves!
3rd person	Himself, Herself Themselves	Lui-même Charles a compris par lui-même. / Charles understood by himself.	Elle-même Marie doit faire elle-même ses devoirs. / Marie must do her homework herself.	Eux-mêmes Les enfants doivent ramasser leur chambre eux-mêmes. / The kids must tidy up their room themselves.	Elles-mêmes Mes coéquipières ont décoré le gâteau elles-mêmes. / My fellow players (fem.) decorated this cake themselves.
	Oneself	Soi-même** Il est important de savoir apprendre par soi-même. / It is important that one can learn by oneself.		–

 

* Note that the politeness “vous”, while the verbs will be at the second person PLURAL, every adjective or past participate will be singular, because it reflects that there is only one person concerned.

Example 1

Merci Monsieur, vous vous êtes montré très compréhensif. / Thank you, sir, you have been really accommodating.

Note that « montré » and « compréhensif » are masculine singular because “Monsieur” is only one person, but that the verb “êtes” is conjugated at the second person plural.

 

** “Soi-même” is neutral. It is associated with the pronoun “on”, which is vague in nature. There is no perfect equivalent but it refers to the vague idea of “people out there” or a version of “anyone”.

Example 2

On n’est jamais mieux servi que par soi-même. / One is always better served by oneself.

 

“On” can also be an informal “nous”, so sometimes in an informal setting, we can see a combination of the pronoun “on” and the expression “nous-mêmes”

Example 3

Marc et moi, on va le faire nous-mêmes. / Mark and me, we will do it ourselves.

 

 

The expression can sometimes come with a preposition, but not always. The context is important to determine the form that it will take. Not every preposition can be combined with this expression, but notably “pour”, “par” and “de” are the most used in this way.

Example 1 :

Je veux prendre du temps pour moi-même. / I want to take time for myself.

 

Example 2 :

J’aime faire des choses par moi-même. / I like to do things myself.

Note that « par moi-même » is not equivalent to “by myself”. It doesn’t mean alone, but rather with one’s own means, without help.

 

Example 3 :

Je ne peux pas croire que Julien a vidé le lave-vaisselle de lui-même. / I cannot believe Julien emptied the dishwasher of his own initiative.

Note that « de soi-même » has a separate meaning : without prompting.

 

Note that the plural form “eux-mêmes” is not used as a vague form as can be “themselves” in English nowadays. Since there is no neutral 3^rd person (except soi, which does not fit most contexts), we must determine the gender of the persons the pronoun is referring to in order to use it. In French, the plural cannot be used to mean the singular like “they/themselves” as often is now used to not identify gender in English.

 

Questions: Answer the questions as needed.