"Ты сам должен готовить."
Translation:You should cook by yourself.
33 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
I put "you should cook alone" but it got marked incorrect.
The answer was given as "you should cook yourself", which to me suggests something I think (hope!) they didn't intend ...
What's tricky here is that English 'yourself' is used in different ways. 'cook yourself' (with emphasis on 'cook') would be alarming! - that reflexive use of 'self' is Russian себя - Он думает о себе 'He's thinking about himself,' Он видит себя 'He sees himself.' Сам does not have this reflexive sense - instead, it gives emphasis. Она сама открыла дверь 'She opened the door herself,' Я видел самого́ президента 'I saw the president himself.'
'You yourself should cook' might make the difference clearer. Or try with different stress - You should cook yoursélf! (don't make anyone else cook) <> You should cóok yourself (!!!).
1010
I wrote "You yourself should cook" but was marked incorrect. :( Duo insists on "for yourself" though I'm not sure that's the only acceptable meaning.
I debated between
You should cook yourself. (As in, you do it rather than get take-out or wait for someone to do it for you)
And
You should cook for yourself. (Which, to me implies, without context like here, that you are making food for you alone. But could also mean cooking for yourself/others as opposed to waiting for someone else to do it for you or always getting take-out.)
I think the english translation can differ without context.
I think it's really only the first (the sense that you yourself should do it). Сам is used for emphasis, not the recipient of an action (that would often be для себя or себе). A few examples might help:
Он сам это написал. He wrote it himself. [nobody did it for him, he didn't have any help] Я сделаю это сама. I'll do it myself. [a woman is speaking, saying she doesn't need help, she'll do it on her own] Мы видели самого президента! We saw the president himself!
as opposed to...
Он купил себе машину своей мечты. He bought himself the car of his dreams.
Я приготовил себе кофе. I made [for myself] coffee.
Когда мы поженились, жена взяла себе мою фамилию. Теперь я просто Иван. When we got married, my wife took my last name. Now I'm just Ivan.
You might even see both together, though it comes out a little clumsy in English: Женщины сами купили себе подарки к 8 марта Women themselves [emphasis] bought [for] themselves presents for March 8. Here сами is adding emphasis, since typically it's men are supposed to buy gifts for the women in their lives on March 8 (International Women's Day).
Now I have learned the meaning of "сам" thanks to this debate, but it is striking how difficult explaining in another language can be . In your examples, the word "himself" in the sentence "He bought himself a car" doesnt clarify at all if it means "he bought a car for himself (себе)" or "he in person "bought a car (anyone else for him: сам).
In English, if you say "He bought himself a car", it can only mean that he bought a car for himself. If you want to say that he bought a car without assistance or accompaniment, it would have to be either "He himself bought a car" or "He bought a car himself".
должен isn't quite as strong as нужно or надо, it's more of a recommendation, so 'should' would be a more appropriate translation in English.
YES. "You should cook yourself"
I want to watch you cook 'yourself.'
The English you are accepting MEANS to cook oneself, NOT TO COOK FOR oneself.
THIS IS A CLASSIC pun ...
I don't think должен should be used for "should". Doesn't it carry more of an obligation? So "must" and "have to".
Нужно is for things that are necessary/should be done
Why for yourself?
You should cook (by) yourself - тебе следует самому готовить.
You should cook for yourself - тебе следует готовить для себя.
You should cook to/for him (she, them) - тебе следует готовить ему/для него (её, них).
In this sentence, 'by yourself' means "without requiring help from others".
i wrote "You yourself must cook". It was marked wrong. (I admit it does sound more stern than " You should cook for yourself." Like a mother scolding a kid who had whined "Where is supper?")
- 1325
You, yourself should cook. It is an emphatic meaning and should have been accepted.
- 778
Can "to prepare, to make ready" sense of готовить be used here? Maybe "You have to prepare yourself."?
I'm not a native Russian speaker, but I think that would be ты должен готовиться, or maybe ты должен себя готовить would work too? I don't think сам can be a direct object like that. More like an adverb, functionally speaking, meaning "by yourself" or "for yourself" or maybe "you and only you". Similar to how in English we say stuff like "You yourself need to do this", i.e. it just stresses that it's that certain person, and no one else.
"You have to cook for yourself"
Makes better sense with the meaning of должен.
Where on earth is "should" coming from?! Under "dolzhen" it lists must, and have to... I guess dolzhen can mean "should" as well?
+996705141093 text me on whatsapp,ill help u with russian,ull help me with eng
I'm confused as to why there's no conjugated verb in this sentence. Or if должен is like надо, why isn't it тебе (dative) сам должен?
