itself

itself
itself [ɪtˈself]
pronoun
   a.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
► When used emphatically, itself is translated lui-même if the noun it refers to is masculine, and elle-même if the noun is feminine.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
• the book itself is not valuable le livre lui-même n'a pas grande valeur
• the chair itself was covered with ink la chaise elle-même était couverte d'encre
• this was itself a sign of progress c'était en soi un signe encourageant
• I live in the city itself j'habite dans la ville même
► by itself
• the door closes by itself la porte se ferme toute seule
• the mere will to cooperate is by itself not sufficient la simple volonté de coopérer n'est pas suffisante en soi► in itself en soi
• just reaching the semifinals has been an achievement in itself arriver en demi-finale a déjà été un exploit en soi
• an end in itself une fin en soi► in and of itself en soi
   b. (emphasizing quality) you've been kindness itself vous avez été la gentillesse même
• it was simplicity itself c'était la simplicité même
   c. (reflexive) se
• the dog hurt itself le chien s'est fait mal
• the computer can reprogram itself l'ordinateur peut se reprogrammer tout seul
* * *
[ɪt'self]
Note: When used as a reflexive pronoun, direct and indirect, itself is translated by se (s' before a vowel or mute h): the cat hurt itself = le chat s'est fait mal; a problem presented itself = un problème s'est présenté
When used for emphasis itself is translated by lui-même when standing for a masculine noun and elle-même when standing for a feminine noun: the car itself was not damaged = la voiture elle-même n'était pas endommagée
For examples and particular usages see the entry below
For uses with prepositions (by itself etc) see 3 below
pronoun
1) (refl) se, s'
2) (emphatic) lui-même/elle-même

the house itself was pretty — la maison elle-même était jolie

in the university itself — dans l'université même or dans l'université elle-même

he was kindness itself — c'était la bonté même or personnifiée

3) (after prepositions)

the heating comes on by itself — le chauffage se met en marche tout seul

the house stands by itself — la maison est toute seule

the library is a fine building in itself — la bibliothèque par elle-même est un beau bâtiment

learning French is not difficult in itself — l'apprentissage du français n'est pas difficile en soi


English-French dictionary. 2013.

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