FEEL ONESELF - LET'S DEBUNK THIS MYTH
Russians are often told by us native teachers (many of whom used to be ex-pizza deliverers before getting a CELTA) that FEEL ONESELF is incorrect and means, if used, to touch yourself in an "oh la la way!" Not entirely! My 45 years of research has come to an end and I will show you what's correct. โ๐ป
So here goes: ๐
1)ย
To feel oneself = to touch yourself in an "Oh la la way" really has to be used in the continuous to have that meaning. BUT, it is almost never used. TOUCH oneself would be the one to use.... if you honestly needed to inform someone you're doing this: ๐ค
๐๐ป I'm feeling myself right now because I am bored and the internet is down. (better: touching myself)
2)ย
Now this is where is gets complicated when used in the Simple and is directly translated from the Russian "ััะฒััะฒะพะฒะฐัั ัะตะฑั."ย
a)
We don't use the "reflexive" as often as many other languages do like Russian and German. So about emotions, well-being etc, it's not reflexive in English:
๐๐ป I feel myself happy! (fuu!) - I feel happy!
๐๐ป Do you feel yourself well enough? (fuu!) - Do you feel well enough?
๐๐ป She feels herself bad (fuu!) - She feels bad!
Even Collins online dictionary says "to feel onself" is soooooooo rare. But if you know your grammar, yes, we can use this in the continuous and it's still not reflexive:
๐๐ป I'm feeling myself so happy! (fuu!) - I'm feeling so happy!
๐๐ป Are you feeling yourself well enough? (fuu!) - Are you feeling well enough?
๐๐ป She's feeling herself bad! (fuu!) - She's feeling bad!
b)
This is where we CAN say "to feel oneself" but the usage is soooooo specific... and rare! If we use the "reflexive" the meaning changes somewhat to: believe/perceive when there is an infinitive complement:
๐๐ป I feel myself to be a hero! (I perceive myself to be)
๐๐ป John feels himself to be quite superior! (He perceives himself to be)
๐๐ป Sarah feels herself to be in charge! (She perceives herself to be)
There are some structures +ing, too:
๐๐ป I feel myself getting depressed! (I believe/perceive that I am getting...)
๐๐ป I feel myself going mad day by day! (i believe I am)
๐๐ป Sarah feels herself becoming the confident woman she always dreamed of!
Although those examples are grammatically correct, the infinitive ones are rare but the +ing being more common. We prefer some alternatives to the infinitive structures; formal vs normal:
Formal:
๐๐ป I feel AS IF I am/were a hero!
๐๐ป John feels AS IF he is/were quite superior!
๐๐ป Sarah feels AS IF she is/were in charge!
Normal (we can omit "like" here):
๐๐ป I feel (like) I am a hero!
๐๐ป John feels (like) he is quite superior!
๐๐ป Sarah feels (like) she's in charge!
c)
There is a common structure "like myself." And it means to feel like one usually does.ย
๐๐ป I've finally started to feel like myself again after weeks of feeling ill!
๐๐ป I don't feel (like) myself today. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood! (I can drop like here)
๐๐ป She hasn't been feeling (like) herself since the accident!
So when we often joke that "I feel myself happy" means to touch yourself in a happy way, it's rubbish. It actually makes no sense!
So guys, I hope that was useful and makes things a bit clearer. That was a tough post for me so now I'm going to relax for a few hours ๐
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