6

I was helping my spouse to proof read some reports, shes a preschool teacher.

One sentence that seemed very strange to me was:

"... he fed him self confidently."

As far as I explain it to my self, is that one doesn't feed them selves?!

I suggested changing the sentence to:

"... he eats with confidence."

But my spouse pointed out that in her guidelines there is a point (quoted as is)

feeding self confidence

Not really sure what that even means but she used that as a suggestion.

Improve this question
14
  • 7
    "feeding himself" is perfectly fine, but not "feeding him self". Just consider a sentence like: "The mother was happy when the child began feeding himself" or "The mother was happy when the child fed himself."
    – DyingIsFun
    Commented Jun 12, 2016 at 21:49
  • 2
    This is where a hyphen is required. self-confidence, self-confidently
    – Jim
    Commented Jun 12, 2016 at 21:56
  • 3
    @Centaurus, "itself" and "themselves" work too, just as well as "himself". I was just pointing out that "himself" works fine with the transitive verb "feed". I thought that was the OP's question.
    – DyingIsFun
    Commented Jun 12, 2016 at 22:21
  • 3
    Yes, when a young child learns to feed himself/herself it is (after a brief period of dread due to the splattered food) a major milestone in childcare.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Jun 12, 2016 at 22:23
  • 1
    And when an adult is recovering from a serious illness, the ability to self-feed may again be a milestone.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Jun 12, 2016 at 22:24

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
10

Well, "him self" should clearly be "himself," but other than that, in the context of a report on a preschooler, "he fed himself confidently" is perfectly fine. A preschooler who feeds himself well is noteworthy.

Those were the days.

Improve this answer
2
  • Yea I suppose in the context of a toddler, the actual actions of eating and feeding are skills that need to be learnt. As an adult it just sound wrong. I wouldn't say, "Yea man, I fed myself that Quarter Pounder" Unless somebody was being sarcastic or a trying to exaggerate they stuffed their faces with the food. I think I get it now. Thanks
    – Piotr Kula
    Commented Jun 12, 2016 at 21:59
  • 3
    "Himself" is the most likely meaning, but if the teacher was talking about the toddler feeding the playgroup's pet gerbil, "he fed him self-confidently" would make sense.
    – alephzero
    Commented Jun 12, 2016 at 23:46
6

I feed myself. My wife feeds herself. I can feed her. She can feed me. I guess that at this point, and so far, I can and do feed myself with confidence (that I will get everything I want into my mouth without assistance). I am still reasonable neat and can keep most of the meal confined to me and my eating utensils. I hope to be able to continue for some time.

I suppose I could convince some unstable person to put a finger or two into their mouth and to try to eat his or her "self;" but, that would be unseemly and ungrammatical.

Improve this answer
1
  • Thanks, this made the term itself clear to me - it's about "feeding yourself" in the sense of being able to eat on your own! That was somehow unclear to me first.
    – Sir Jane
    Commented Jun 13, 2016 at 8:33

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.