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Which is correct, with or without by?

  • They challenged me to analyze the possibility of performing this treatment by myself.
    or:
  • They challenged me to analyze the possibility of performing this treatment myself.

This sentence (without by) is chosen by an English software and I do not understand why.

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  • One does not "perform" a treatment. One treats a patient with x. One carries out a treatment. To do something oneself.
    – Lambie
    Commented Apr 10, 2022 at 22:45

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(Perform it) by myself/yourself etc means without the support or company of anybody else.

You have to complete the cross-country hike by yourself in order to test your map-reading skills. (Nobody is allowed to accompany you).

Perform it myself/yourself/himself/herself/ourselves/themselves is a phrase used to emphasise the person/s concerned, not necessarily to exclude others.

If you think it's easy, try it yourself.
Everybody was amazed that I managed to fix the computer myself.
Because there was no doctor on board the aircraft, the air-crew delivered the baby themselves.

You might have said that they delivered the baby by themselves. This would indicate that nobody else assisted them. They alone did it.

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  • perform a treatment is not good. Sorry.
    – Lambie
    Commented Apr 10, 2022 at 22:45
  • thank you for your answers. Yes, Lambie, you are right.
    – Costas
    Commented Apr 12, 2022 at 0:16

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