Myself or By Myself I did it myself" I did it; the myself is strictly superfluous, but is used to emphasise that it was

s me and not anyone else. "I did it by myself" I did it on my own, without any help.

Literally "by myself" would mean "with myself", using a sense of by that we don't really have any more. This is illogical considered on its own, but if you think of it as an answer to the question "who was you with?" then it's easy enough to see how it would be sensible to say "I was with me" and not intend it to be taken literally. These days it would be a very wellknown idiom to the point where we don't even think about how those two words come to that meaning, we just think of "by oneself" meaning oneself without company.

Usually both answers would be taken to mean the same thing, which is "I did all of it alone; no one helped me." However, they can have different meanings. "I did it by myself." should only carry the above meaning. ''I did it myself." can also mean "No one did it for me; I actually did it."

= Only I did it.

Additional:
Here is a difference, although depending on the context it may vary from meaning much the same thing to meaning completely different things. 'myself' is who does it. I can paint this wall myself. There is no need to hire a painter to do it. Let's save our money. 'I myself' is me doing it. I myself can make this. I can do anything. You think I can't do it without someone telling me how, but I will prove you wrong! 'by myself' is how I do it I can paint this wall by myself. I don't need any help from anybody. Go away! He could make it by himself - alone, without any help. He himself could make it - You might think he would need to have it made, but surprisingly, or in my opinion, he does not need help or someone else to do it. He is capable of doing it. He could make it himself - instead of asking or paying somebody else to do it.

The first time you come across this in what you read or hear, it will make sense because the meaning will make sense in the context. Until then, it may be difficult to use on its own because it is fairly nuanced.

ghu wrote: 1)He could make it by himself. 2)He himself could make it. 3)He could make it himself. I didn't see the difference between them in meaning. Is any difference?

The first one has the most specific meaning. "By himself" is an idiom meaning "completely alone." It emphasizes that no one else would be involved in the making of it. The other two emphasize that he could be capable of, or responsible for, making it. There might be other persons involved, or not, but he could take the initiative or primary responsibility for making it.

In all cases we use the pronoun "". Thanks for explanations. My understanding it after is... He himself = he, by his own person,.. He .....himself.= he......by his own efforts He......by himself.= he .....without someone else.

ghu wrote: 2)He himself could make it. 3)He could make it himself. I didn't see the difference between them in meaning. Is any difference?

The differences between these two are subtle. Sometimes they do mean the same thing, but in other contexts they can be quite different. The pattern "[nominal] + [reflexive pronoun]" is often used as a form of emphasis or intensifying. It doesn't change the literal meaning much, but adds more force to the statement. The extra emphasis can indicate that the word "could" indicates the past tense of "can" rather than the conditional mood. Example number 3 is often used in colloquial English to complain about another person's laziness. "Why does he have to bother you for breakfast? He could make it himself."