I find myself asking myself...

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

Is there any other way to say the above sentence so as not to use the word “myself” twice?

I think if we drop the second “myself” the meaning will differ.

Thanks,
Cantik

2

Hi Si,

You could say ‘I couldn’t help but ask myself…’. There’d be a rather subtle difference in meaning.

3

.
I’d generally use a bare infinitive after “couldn’t help but”:

“I couldn’t help but ask myself …”
.

4

Oops, typo. Just edited.

5

I think that sounds better. Thanks, though I wonder what the typo was.

6

Actually, if you drop the second “myself” it works just fine. Generally if you look at the bigger picture, it will be understood that the person is asking him/herself, and not running around asking everybody else. So yeah, just drop the second “myself” and the meaning doesn’t really change at all in my opinion.

7

I kinda figured that out myself, later on. Thanks!