Breakdown of Эгоист любит только себя.
любить
to love, to like
только
only
себя
oneself (себе: Dat/Prep)
эгоист
egoist, selfish person
Questions & Answers about Эгоист любит только себя.
Why do we use себя here instead of его?
себя is a reflexive pronoun that bounces the action back to the subject. It means himself here because the subject is Эгоист. If you used the regular pronoun его (him), the sentence would mean that an egoist loves only him (meaning some other specific person).
What case is себя in this sentence?
It is in the Accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb любит (loves). Interestingly, себя doesn't have a Nominative form because it can never be the subject of a sentence!
Would себя change if we were talking about a female egoist or multiple egoists?
No, себя stays exactly the same regardless of the subject's gender or number. It translates to myself, yourself, himself, herself, or themselves depending entirely on who is doing the action.
Why is только placed before себя?
In Russian, emphasizing words like только (only) usually go immediately before the word they modify. Here, placing it right before себя makes it very clear that the egoist loves himself and nobody else.
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