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I am not frightened for myself. I am not scared for myself. I am not afraid for myself.

I would use them in this contextus:

I am not frightened because of me, I am scared that my grandparents get infected and they will die due to the virus.

Can I use these three sentences replacing the first one? I am not frightened because of me = I am not frightened for myself. = I am not scared for myself = I am not afraid for myself. Is it correct grammatically and sound natural? Or is it totally wrong?

(Feel free to correct my any sentences, because a want to learn a lot from my mistakes)

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  • Consider "I am not frightened for my own sake."
    – Justin
    Commented Mar 30, 2020 at 19:53

2 Answers 2

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All three (scared / frightened / afraid) work fine, just be sure to match them in the sentence.

I am not frightened for myself, I am frightened that my grandparents will get infected and that they will die due to the virus.

I am not afraid for myself, I am afraid that my grandparents will get infected and that they will die due to the virus.

Also note that in the second clause (clauses are the sections separated by the comma) the sections either side of the "and" should match each other structurally - "that [noun]", "will [verb]" or, like the other comment suggested, just drop them in both parts.

I am not afraid for myself, I am afraid that my grandparents will get infected and that they will die due to the virus.

I am not afraid for myself, I am afraid my grandparents will get infected and will die due to the virus.

although this last one is not as good stylistically, as now the use of "afraid doesn't match in each clause ("afraid for" vs "afraid")

So, finally, my best option:

I am not afraid for myself, I am afraid for my grandparents. They may get infected and die due to the virus.

It's not as strong (may get infected and die vs will get infected and die) but it all matches stylistically.

The best way to determine the style is the context - what is the sentence that this in response to? It would help determine the best structure of the response.

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  • I made a slight edit for what I think was a cut-and-paste error. Note that you don't need to match "that" in both parts: "that (they) will get infected and will die" is fine too, and actually in casual speech "will get infected and die" is perfectly natural too. Actually, repeating "that" technically says you're afraid of the two things separately (as two separate fears), whereas without it it implies you're afraid of "infection followed by death" as one thing.
    – Foogod
    Commented Mar 30, 2020 at 19:41
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Yes, you can use the three expressions you propose, and they are more natural than "because of myself", though that is not wrong.

Some corrections for your post, per your invitation:
"context" is the correct word in English.
"Is it correct grammatically and does it sound natural?"
"Feel free to correct any of my sentences,..."
"...that my grandparents might get infected and die due to the virus.

A final suggestion for your entire sentence: "I am not afraid for myself, I am afraid that my grandparents might get infected and die due to the virus."

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