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Expression: Buy myself



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Phrasal verb: Make Out | By their hands versus With their hands
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Expression: Buy myself #1 (permalink) Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:59 pm   Expression: Buy myself
 

Hi

I would like to know if the expression buy myself is normal in everyday English! For example,

1-I want to buy a piano.
2- I want to buy myself a piano


Is there any difference? Could I use myself every time I use the word buy?(Needless to say, I am not buying the thing for someone else. It is understood that the thing is for me only.)

Tom
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Expression: Buy myself #2 (permalink) Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:45 am   Expression: Buy myself
 

.
Myself makes it obvious for whom the piano is intended; that's the only difference here. Perfectly normal, but often unnecessary. Of course, the first sentence, in context, could also well mean I want to buy a piano (for my niece).

Other situations may require the indirect object:

I gave myself a haircut. I gave a haircut. -- These have quite different meanings.
.
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Phrasal verb: Make Out | By their hands versus With their hands
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