Forming constructions similar to "by myself" - confusion with "por mí mismo" and "por mi mismo" and other questions

Question

Good afternoon,

I have been trying to figure out ways of using in Spanish similar constructions as in English "myself, himself, etc." I think I grasped a general idea, but got some confusions.

1) Por mi mismo vs por mí mismo - what is the difference? Can be extrapolated to other prepositions (de mi mismo/de mí mismo, etc.). I have some doubts that construction with "mi" is incorrect, because I never saw "tu mismo", but saw "a tú mismo" and "a ti mismo".

2) Por mí mismo vs para mí mismo - what is the difference?

3) A mí mismo vs yo mismo - what is the difference? Can be extrapolated to other examples (tú/a ti mismo, etc.)

4) Is the word "mismo" the most popular one in Spanish to be used for "myself/himself"? For example, I saw the following:

"Por mi cuenta".

Regarding "por mi cuenta", I now understand the difference with "por mí mismo" by looking into this answer: ¿Cuál es la diferencia entre 'por mí mismo' y 'por mi cuenta'? But maybe there are other structures.

Are there any important things in general, which you have to take into account when forming constructions "himself", "themselves", "yourself" in Spanish compared to how it is done in English?

Answer 1

1) Por mi mismo vs por mí mismo - what is the difference?

The difference is that only "por mí mismo" is correct because "mí" is a pronoun (not the possessive) and needs to be stressed. For other grammatical persons, you use:

• por ti mismo (by yourself)
• por sí mismo (by him/herself)
• por nosotros mismos (by ourselves)
• por vosotros / ustedes mismos (by yourselves)
• por sí mismos (by themselves)

2) Por mí mismo vs para mí mismo - what is the difference?

"por" indicates agency and "para", benefit.

• Lo hago por mí mismo means that I do it by myself, without any help.

• Lo hago para mí mismo means that I do it for my own benefit.

3) A mí mismo vs yo mismo - what is the difference? Can be extrapolated to other examples (tú/a ti mismo, etc.)

"yo mismo" can be used merely to emphasize the subject or to mean "por mí mismo":

• Yo mismo lo hice. (I did it myself or by myself.)

"a mí mismo" is an emphatic direct or indirect object.

• Me vio a mí mismo. (He saw ME.)

• Me lo dio a mí mismo. (He gave it to ME.)

4) Is the word "mismo" the most popular one in Spanish to be used for "myself/himself"?

Yes, it is the most common.