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What is the right sentence between the following (or the best/most appropriate if they're all correct)

(1) You will have to do the proofreading yourself

(2) You will have to do the proofreading by yourself

(3) You will have to do the proofreading on your own

What is the difference between them ? A similar question has already been asked, with no answer. This question also doesn't answer mine, as suggested by the title my main concern is the difference between (1) and (3), not (2) and (3) (which are very close.)

My guess is:

  • "to do something yourself" means that the action has to be done by you, and not someone else.

  • "to do something by yourself" and "on your own" both mean that you will do the thing alone. It's more about who you do the thing with rather than who does the thing.

Am I correct ? (If so, don't forget to answer the first question)

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  • You have it exactly. Commented Jan 7, 2017 at 20:36
  • @StoneyB Nice ! I'd still like to know which one I should use in the example I gave, if possible :) Commented Jan 7, 2017 at 20:38
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    Possible duplicate of "By oneself" versus "on one's own" Commented Jan 7, 2017 at 20:45
  • It depends on what you mean. Commented Jan 7, 2017 at 20:49
  • @FumbleFingers That's interesting, but that's not really what my question is about. The emphasis is on "do something oneself" vs "do something on one's own". (I don't know if I can use "oneself" here btw) Commented Jan 7, 2017 at 21:12

1 Answer 1

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You will have to do the proofreading yourself.
you will need to do the proofreading without others to help you.

which really isn't helpful since the main point of proofreading is having another pair of eyes check.

You will have to do the proofreading by yourself.
You will have to do the proofreading on your own.

depending on context, could have the same meaning as the first sentence, or could mean you need to got to a quiet corner somewhere where you are not disturbed to proofread.

If you're doing something yourself, you're usually doing it by yourself or on your own.

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