Is it "I cut my hair myself" or "I cut my hair by myself" or "I cut my hair"?
Which one of the three is grammatically correct?
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1All three are grammatically fine. Why do you think only one of them is grammatically correct?– J.R. ♦Commented Dec 20, 2015 at 11:40
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1I'd just say, "I don't pay a stylist. They cost too much. I cut my own hair".– JimCommented Dec 20, 2015 at 18:33
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Ii do actually like @Jim's answer, mentioned in the above comment, best. It's so short, it's beautiful. I'd even have upvoted it, but alas, Jim didn't place it as an official answer to the question. :(– TOOGAMCommented Dec 21, 2015 at 11:07
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3 Answers
Each one of those sentences has a different implication although they all could give the same meaning which is doing something alone.
The first one is used when you want to imply that you are the only one who cut his hair.
The second sentence implies you cut your hair without anyone helping you.
The last one is kind of ambiguous. You are just saying you did cut your hair. There could be someone that helped, cut it for you or did the same thing to himself. No implications.
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1Last one is either using a past or present tense. If it was the present that would be like I cut my hair every month (routine or habit); if it was the past, it'd be a short action or a completed one on a specific time.– SchwaleCommented Dec 20, 2015 at 13:00
To make something shorter by cutting trans.without the help of anyone else.
All the sentences are correct grammatically, with a little difference in meaning. As the past of the verb cut is also cut, these sentences may be in the present or past simple. Let's think they are in the present simple.
You use the verb cut for hair to mean "make your hair shorter by cutting".
If you cut your hair, it may mean that you cut your hair with or without the help of another person; the sentence is ambiguous.
If you cut your hair yourself, it means the same thing as above, but there's an emphasis on your doing it.
If you cut your hair by yourself, it's quite clear that you cut your hair yourself without the help of anybody else.
Out of the three, the best option is:
I cut my hair by myself.
It sounds the best. It gives the complete information. Additionally, take the following sentence,
I cut my hair once every year.
Now, this means that the subject gets a haircut once in a year. But that doesn't mean he does it himself. He could get it cut by a hair stylist, or whoever it maybe. So the third option need not mean the same as the first two.
PS: I would advice you not to use the example I suggested. But I only used that to explain the context. The best way to use the example I suggested would be 'I get a haircut once every year'.
answered Dec 20, 2015 at 9:35
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I would take your example to mean that they, in fact, did cut their own hair once each year. I would further suppose that since nobody gets their hair cut just once a year, that they have somebody else do it the rest of the time- leaving me to wonder why they choose to do it themselves that one time each year.– JimCommented Dec 20, 2015 at 18:31