On my own v alone

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FrenchMags1

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What are your thoughts on these two phrases:

I was alone.
I was on my own.

How can we define the nuances for a student?

Many thanks for your help.
 

Raymott

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What are your thoughts on these two phrases:

I was alone.
I was on my own.

How can we define the nuances for a student?

Many thanks for your help.
What nuances do you want to describe? They seem to mean the same to me - you were there, but no one else was. Wouldn't the additional nuance have to come from the context?
 

Tdol

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The context would indicate whether this was a neutral statement or carried an implication of negative feelings, etc. As they stand here, I don't see a difference.
 

charliedeut

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To me, however, "alone" is rather neuter. "On my own" would imply I had to do something to survive, as if I were lost in the forest/jungle/desert/you name it.

Maybe it's just related to how I was taught, that's why I highlighted the beginning.
 

konungursvia

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To me, alone is more likely to be merely factual. I was alone when I did my Christmas shopping.
And "on my own" is more likely to be social or affective. When the guilty verdict came down, it hit me I was on my own.
 
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