I put the book in front of me/I put the book on myself

[Vladv1]

I was taught that if the subject and the object after prespostion OF PLACE/POSITION refers to the same person, we use the objective case.
Example; "I put the book in front of me" (not myself). But "I put a book on me"is incorrect according to AI Perplexity, it should be "I put the book on myself " Very strange, since on is prepostion of place/position. I am confused.

 

[emsr2d2]

I was taught that if the subject and the object after a prespostion preposition OF PLACE/POSITION of place/position refers to the same person, we use the objective case.

Example: "I put the book in front of me" (not "myself").

But However, "I put a book on me" space here is incorrect according to AI Perplexity, and it should be "I put the book on myself". This is very strange, since "on" is a prepostion preposition of place/position. I am confused.

Please note my corrections above. If you're going to ask a question about prepositions, at least try to spell the word correctly!

I have to admit, though, you have a good question. I'm not a grammar specialist. My hunch is that it has to do with the difference between "put in front of" and "put on" (which can also be worded "put onto"). I'm sure a grammar specialist will be able to explain!

 

[Vladv1]

Please note my corrections above. If you're going to ask a question about prepositions, at least try to spell the word correctly!

I have to admit, though, you have a good question. I'm not a grammar specialist. My hunch is that it has to do with the difference between "put in front of" and "put on" (which can also be worded "put onto"). I'm sure a grammar specialist will be able to explain!

Can we sometimes use reflexives after prepositions of place/position to avoid ambiguity? Example: "They carried the tree behind themselves", "She hung the picture above herself".

 

[jutfrank]

As with any refIexive action, it's basically to do with how directly affected the agent is by its own action:

I put the book next to me.

Here, next to me is merely a place phrase and nothing more. It's in relation to me but that's all.

I put the book on myself.

Here, the place phrase on myself and the subject I are in a qualifying sense the same thing, which is why a reflexive pronoun is needed. In other words, I am directly affected by the action since 'I' am both the place and the doer of the action.

 

[jutfrank]

Can we sometimes use reflexives after prepositions of place/position to avoid ambiguity? Example: "They carried the tree behind themselves".

Yes.

 

[Vladv1]

Yes.

I pointed the gun at myself. Here "I am directly affected by the action since 'I' am both the place and the doer of the action" applies as well?

 

[Tarheel]

I pointed the gun at myself.

That one makes sense. It's a real sentence that somebody might really say. The reader (or listener) can visualize the activity. It's a real English sentence.

 

[Vladv1]

That one makes sense. It's a real sentence that somebody might really say. The reader (or listener) can visualize the activity. It's a real English sentence.

But I was taught that after preposition of direction/place we use objective, not reflexive, evenif the person is the same " I put the book next to me"

 

[Tarheel]

Well, I haven't had my coffee yet. And I have already talked about grammar more than I wanted to.

Please note that we don't space after opening quotes. (See below.)

Bob said, "I haven't had my coffee yet."

 

[emsr2d2]

But I was taught that after a preposition of direction/place we use an objective pronoun, not a reflexive pronoun, even space here if the person is the same, as in "I put the book next to me".

 

[jutfrank]

I pointed the gun at myself. Here "I am directly affected by the action since 'I' am both the place and the doer of the action" applies as well?

Yes, exactly. Good example.

 

[Vladv1]

Yes, exactly. Good example.

But if I say " I put the gun near me" not myself. I am not affected by the action? How to understand when I am affected by the action or not when using prepsitions of place in the pattern we have been discussing?

 

[jutfrank]

But if I say " I put the gun near me" not myself. I am not affected by the action?

Right. Obviously, in this case you're not going to blow your own head off, but if you point the gun at yourself you might. If you simply put the gun down by your side, nothing is going to happen to you resulting directly from that action.

How to understand when I am affected by the action or not when using prepsitions of place in the pattern we have been discussing?

Ask this: Am I on the receiving end of an action?

 

[Vladv1]

Right. Obviously, in this case you're not going to blow your own head off, but if you point the gun at yourself you might.



Ask this: Am I going to be on the receiving end of an action?

Thanks for the great expalantion. Could you please give more such examples where I am going to be on the receiving end of an action. Can't think of them myself.

 

[jutfrank]

You should believe in yourself a bit more.
She now avoids looking at herself in the mirror.
You must search inside yourself for the answer.
Sorry—I was talking to myself.

 

[Skrej]

I sh*t myself this morning.*
You should try it. You might just surprise yourself.
Chock the wheels so you don't accidentally crush yourself.


*Disclaimer: Not a true statement (today at least).

 

[jutfrank]

I sh*t myself this morning.*

I think Vladv1 is asking specifically about cases where the reflexive pronoun is an object of a preposition, not a verb. A related utterance might be:

I sh*t on myself this morning.

There are days when one's morning handstand routine doesn't quite go as planned.

 

[Tarheel]

@Vladv1 You seem to have learned how to ask questions by copying AI. However, I don't recommend that.

(I am still working on prepositions of place. That's new to me.)

 

[emsr2d2]

But if I say "I put the gun near me", I am not affected by the action.

Don't put a space after opening quotation marks.
You needed a comma not a full stop in the middle.
This isn't a question so the question mark at the end was wrong. It should have been a full stop.

How to can I understand when whether I am affected by the action or not when using prepositions of place in the pattern we have been discussing?

We don't start questions with "How to". You've been here long enough to know this.
Please learn the correct spelling of "preposition"!

Thanks for the great explanation. Could you please give more such examples where I am going to be on the receiving end of an action. I can't think of them any myself.

Take more care with your spelling. Install an English spellchecker on your browser. It would pick up obvious errors such as your various misspellings of "preposition" and your "expalantion".
Your second sentence in the paragraph above was tautologous. You needed either:
1. Could you please give me more such examples?
2. Could you please give me more examples where I am going to be on the receiving end of an action?
I chose the second because it makes it clear what sort of examples you're after.
Always write in full sentences on the forum. No grammatical sentence starts with "Can't". (A question can, but not a declarative sentence.)

 

[Tarheel]

@Vladv1 Here are some more.

1. Even though I'm by myself a lot I don't talk to myself much.
2. I write the poems myself. I do them myself.
3. I don't need any help. I write them myself.
4. I don't need any help. I will do it myself.
5. Keep your hands to yourself.
6. I don't need your help. I will do it myself.
7. I'm not in the habit of talking to myself. That's even though I live by myself.
8. I am going to find out if you're paying attention to my posts or if I'm talking to myself.
9. It seems like you're ignoring me. It seems like I'm talking to myself.