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Is the sentence I was so exhausted that i couldn't help myself but sleep correct?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
No. These are some correct versions (there are others):
'I was so exhausted that I couldn't stop myself sleeping.'
'I was so exhausted that I couldn't help sleeping.'
The verb 'help' in this context means 'avoid', 'prevent', 'stop'.
The expression 'cannot help' is sometimes colloquially followed by 'but', but that is illogical, as it reverses the meaning. 'But' in that context means 'other than'. Therefore, if you say you 'cannot help but' do something, you are saying that you cannot avoid doing other than that thing. Or, in other words, that you cannot do that thing.
English is full of such interesting examples of odd usages. They are part of what makes it such a wonderful language. By all means, use 'cannot help but' to mean 'must' if you want to. You will no doubt be understood. But it's not a bad idea to think carefully about the meaning of everything that you say or write, and to be aware of whether the real meaning of what you are saying is the opposite of your intended meaning.
If you do want to keep that construction in the case of your example sentence, you would say 'I was so exhausted that I couldn't help but sleep.' You would not include the word 'myself'. 'To help myself' means something else altogether.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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