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'Keep it for you' vs 'Keep it for yourself'



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Synonym for 'keep it up'? | 'A favor to ask of you'
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'Keep it for you' vs 'Keep it for yourself' Tue Nov 21, 2006 8:11 am  'Keep it for you' vs 'Keep it for yourself'
 

Hi

Could you please tell me which one of the following is better? Are both correct and natural?

1- Keep it for you.
2- Keep it for yourself.


Tom
Tom
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'Keep it for you' vs 'Keep it for yourself' Tue Nov 21, 2006 9:46 am  'Keep it for you' vs 'Keep it for yourself'
 

Hi,

It depends whether the 'keeping' refers back to the subject as in:

You keep it for yourself.

I'll keep it for you.

A
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'Keep it for you' vs 'Keep it for yourself' Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:55 am  'Keep it for you' vs 'Keep it for yourself'
 

Thanks Alan

...what if I substitute with for for in my original sentences?

1- Keep it with you.
2- Keep it with yourself.

Tom
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'Keep it for you' vs 'Keep it for yourself' Tue Nov 21, 2006 12:28 pm  'Keep it for you' vs 'Keep it for yourself'
 

Hi Tom,

In that case you would only say 'with' you as the preposition 'with' is, as it were, more remote.

A
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'Keep it for you' vs 'Keep it for yourself' Tue Nov 21, 2006 15:06 pm  'Keep it for you' vs 'Keep it for yourself'
 

Tom wrote:
Could you please tell me which one of the following is better? Are both correct and natural?

1- Keep it for you.
2- Keep it for yourself.

As Alan says, it depends on the subject of the sentence.

The general rule is that an ordinary pronoun (such as "you") can't refer to something within its own clause. So, for example, in the sentence, "She likes her," the two pronouns have to refer to different people.

On the other hand, if you usually need a reflexive pronoun to refer to something within the same clause, so in, "She likes herself," both pronouns have to refer to the same person.

If your entire sentences is, "Keep it for yourself," it's a command, and the implied subject is you, and so only the reflexive pronoun works. If you add a subject that is not "you", such as "I", "they", etc., then the reflexive pronoun can't be used.

This is the theory behind what Alan was saying.
Jamie (K)
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Synonym for 'keep it up'? | 'A favor to ask of you'
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