itself

[ɪt'self]

pronome

1) (reflexive) si, se stesso m. (-a)

2) (emphatic) stesso

the house itself was pretty — la casa in sé era graziosa

the library is not in the university itself — la biblioteca non si trova all'interno dell'università

he was kindness itself — era la gentilezza fatta persona

3) (after prepositions)

the heating comes on by itself — il riscaldamento si accende da solo

the house stands by itself in the middle of a field — la casa si trova isolata in mezzo a un campo

the library is a fine building in itself — la biblioteca in sé è un bell'edificio

learning Italian is not difficult in itself — imparare l'italiano non è di per sé difficile

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Note:

When used as a reflexive pronoun, direct and indirect, itself is translated by si, which is always placed before the verb: the cat hurt itself = il gatto si è fatto male; a problem presented itself = si è posto un problema. - When used as an emphatic to stress the corresponding noun, the translation is stesso for a masculine noun and stessa for a feminine noun: the preface itself makes good reading = la prefazione stessa è bella da leggere. - When used after a preposition, itself is translated by sé or se stesso / se stessa: the machine in itself is easy to use = la macchina di per di sé / se stessa è facile da usare. - (All) by itself is translated by da solo / da sola, which means alone and/or without help. - For particular usages see below

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pronoun

1) (used as the object of a verb or preposition when an object, animal etc is the object of an action it performs: The cat looked at itself in the mirror; The cat stretched itself by the fire.) lui stesso, lei stessa, se stesso, se stessa, si

2) (used to emphasize it or the name of an object, animal etc: The house itself is quite small, but the garden is big.) stesso, stessa

3) (without help etc: `How did the dog get in?' `Oh, it can open the gate itself.') da solo, da sola

* * *

[ɪt'self]

pronome

1) (reflexive) si, se stesso m. (-a)

2) (emphatic) stesso

the house itself was pretty — la casa in sé era graziosa

the library is not in the university itself — la biblioteca non si trova all'interno dell'università

he was kindness itself — era la gentilezza fatta persona

3) (after prepositions)

the heating comes on by itself — il riscaldamento si accende da solo

the house stands by itself in the middle of a field — la casa si trova isolata in mezzo a un campo

the library is a fine building in itself — la biblioteca in sé è un bell'edificio

learning Italian is not difficult in itself — imparare l'italiano non è di per sé difficile

••

Note:

When used as a reflexive pronoun, direct and indirect, itself is translated by si, which is always placed before the verb: the cat hurt itself = il gatto si è fatto male; a problem presented itself = si è posto un problema. - When used as an emphatic to stress the corresponding noun, the translation is stesso for a masculine noun and stessa for a feminine noun: the preface itself makes good reading = la prefazione stessa è bella da leggere. - When used after a preposition, itself is translated by sé or se stesso / se stessa: the machine in itself is easy to use = la macchina di per di sé / se stessa è facile da usare. - (All) by itself is translated by da solo / da sola, which means alone and/or without help. - For particular usages see below