Meaning everything's fine or in good order.
Okay, now let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with thingy.
Discover new words and phrases on a variety of topics.
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Well, this can't be a massive problem in itself.
I'll just put it back.
I knew it wasn't going to fix itself, so i had to walk my bike over the countryside hills.
Hello and welcome to Learning English Grammar, where we help you with grammar for everyday situations.
I'm Pippa.
And I'm Neil.
Today we're talking about problems and fixing them.
And we're going to be looking at how to use the word itself in a few different ways.
You can read along with this podcast and find a quiz and worksheet on our website to test yourself.
Visit bbclearningenglish.com So Neil, today we're talking about fixing things.
Have you fixed anything recently?
I have.
I fixed a toilet seat, Pippa.
Oh, and was that easy?
Well, it was supposed to be easy.
It's a long story, but I ended up getting very angry.
That's like me.
Whenever I do DIY, it always takes ages and I get very annoyed.
I completely agree with you, Pippa.
DIY is awful.
OK, let's listen to some more from Phil and Becca talking about some problems they've had recently.
And as you're listening, notice how do Phil and Becca use the word itself?
Sometime in the summer, the children came and said, no, the gate's fallen off.
Oh, no, the gate's fallen off.
Thought, well, this can't be a massive problem in itself.
I'll just put it back.
But the screws had pulled out in a way that they weren't going to go back in.
And the garage it was screwed into was made of asbestos, so I couldn't drill into it.
So I tried gluing it, get some really strong glue to glue the hinges.
I thought it would just stay there by itself.
It didn't.
And then I thought...
I know I can drill into the concrete and I can put a post there that will stand up by itself.
It didn't.
It wobbled.
But then what I did is I got another bit of wood to see if I could drill that into the concrete and stick it.
And now it will stand up by itself without me having to hold on to it.
So while I was cycling, I decided to go down this little countryside lane.
It seemed okay for a while because the wheels were going around fine by themselves.
But then it got more and more difficult to cycle and I realised that I had a puncture.
I knew it wasn't going to fix itself so I had to walk my bike over the countryside hills.
Luckily my dad isn't too bad with bike mechanics so he helped me fix it.
So Phil had to fix a gate in his garden and Becca had to fix her bike.
She got a puncture.
Now a puncture is a small hole in the tyre of a bike.
Yes, and I noticed that Phil used the phrase by itself and Becca used the phrase in itself.
Yes, so we've got lots of uses of the word itself here.
And here to help us explain the grammar of itself is Georgie, our grammar guru.
Hello.
Hi Georgie.
Can you talk us through how to use itself?
I sure can.
So, you might know that itself is a reflexive pronoun.
Reflexive pronouns always end in self or selves.
So, some other examples are myself, herself, themselves.
Right.
And reflexive pronouns like itself are used when the subjects and object of a verb are the same person or thing.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So, for example, I bought myself a coffee.
I bought it and I bought it for me.
I am the subject and the object of the verb bought.
And let's hear another example.
Here's Becca talking about her broken bike.
I knew it wasn't going to fix itself.
In this example, the subject and object of the sentence are the bike it, which Becca says wasn't going to fix itself.
That would be a very fancy bike.
OK, Georgie, could we have a look at this phrase by itself?
Yes, we use by with reflexive pronouns to mean alone or without any help.
Let's hear Phil talking about fixing his gate.
And now it will stand up by itself without me having to hold on to it.
Now that Phil has fixed the gate, it will stand up by itself, meaning it will stand up on its own or without Phil holding or helping.
We can use by plus a reflexive pronoun to give more information about an activity.
For example, she fixed the door by herself.
We can also use this structure to just describe a situation.
For example, I left my dogs by themselves.
This means I left my dogs alone.
And here's one more example from Becca.
It seemed OK for a while because the wheels were going round fine by themselves.
Right, and now let's talk about the phrase in itself.
What does this mean?
Well, this is an interesting one.
We use in itself to talk about something as separate from other things.
Let's listen to Phil again.
Well, this can't be a massive problem in itself.
I'll just put it back.
Phil is saying that he didn't think the problem of the broken gate, when considered as an individual problem, would be too bad.
But you might remember when he tried to fix the gate, he found other problems.
The screws wouldn't go back in, and the garage was made of asbestos, which is a dangerous material.
All these problems together are a bit more worrying.
We use in itself for emphasis.
The sentence would still make sense without it.
For example, Phil could have said this can't be a massive problem.
OK, how else could we use in itself?
Well, it's really all about emphasising a particular thing.
For example, answering your grammar questions is a big job in itself, but I still find time to make other programmes for BBC Learning English.
And you might find other reflexive pronouns used for emphasis.
We often do this by using the reflexive pronoun straight after the pronoun.
So, for example, he himself, they themselves and so on.
So, let's think about an example sentence –
Parents often like to watch films with their kids that they themselves enjoyed growing up.
Thanks, Georgie.
I myself will make sure you get a break from grammar explanations soon.
That would be nice, though I'm sure you could answer some of these questions by yourselves.
Bye for now.
Bye.
OK, Pippa, let's play a game to test what we've learnt.
I'm going to start a sentence and I want you to give me the end of the sentence using a reflexive pronoun.
Play along while you listen.
Try to answer before I do.
OK, so number one.
She was hungry, so she... Made herself a sandwich.
Yes, that works.
Number two.
You shouldn't leave a baby... You shouldn't leave a baby by itself.
Good example.
Number three.
This task is going to take all day.
In itself.
This task is going to take all day in itself.
So, I don't have time for a call too.
Excellent.
What grammar do you find confusing?
Is there anything we can help with?
Email your questions to learningenglish at bbc.co.uk.
And don't forget to test everything you learnt in this episode with the quiz and worksheet on our website.
Visit bbclearningenglish.com.
That's it for this episode of Learning English Grammar.
We've learnt how to use in itself for emphasis.
And we've learnt that both Pippa and I really don't like DIY.
Bye for now.
Goodbye.
