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I want to say that the person himself/herself should be the first supporter of himself/herself. I came up with two different ways of saying that, and I want to know if they are all correct, and which one presents the best version.

1. You are your self first supporter.




2. You are the first supporter for yourself.

I prefer the first one as it sounds idiomatic, but I don't want the "your self" part to get confused with "yourself" when spoken loudly. So is there another word I can substitute "self" with?

3. "You are your own biggest fan."

This would be an informal way of saying the same thing. It could be used positively or negatively. If used in a negative sense, it is stating sarcastically that the person thinks too much of himself.

Here's a link to an Internet search showing how similar sayings are used in a self-affirming sense: Link to search results

Here is a rhetorical question that makes the original poster's point:

4. If you don't believe in yourself, who will?

Statements like this typically use your own X:

5. You are your own first supporter.

This:

1. You are your self first supporter

sounds awkward. Self is not used as a modifier very often except as part of fixed phrases like self service.

Your first sentence is not grammatical English, so it will not sound natural to any native speaker. The reason is that 'self' is the indirect object of first supporter, but your sentence doesn't indicate the relationship. You would have to say

You are your own first supporter

Your second sentence fixes this problem by explaining that you are the first supporter of yourself. There is functionally no difference between 'your self' and 'yourself' in this case. They mean the same thing.

But neither sentence can be used by itself without sounding strange, because the phrase 'first supporter' is not a common phrase in native English. It's confusing because we don't know what is meant by the word 'first'. Does it mean you are the earliest one, the one that comes before the others sequentially? Or does it mean you're the most important one of all your supporters?

Also, the word 'supporter' is not usually used in a general way. It needs a context. A person might have supporters at work, or political supporters, but not just 'supporters'.

Your question says that you want to say a person 'should be' the first supporter of their self, but your suggestions use the verb 'are'. 'Are' doesn't mean the same as 'should be'. If you want to say that someone 'should be' their own supporter then use an imperative word like 'be'.

Be your own first supporter

The idiomatic phrase that comes to my mind for saying the same thing is

Be your own best friend

You could also say

Support yourself first

This could be understood in several ways, depending on what the word 'first' is referring to. You would have to clarify what 'first' means by adding context.

support yourself before you support others

support yourself before you do something else

support yourself before others support you