expression, noun, noun, used as a suffix
the very thing; itself
Used as a noun meaning 'the thing itself' or as a suffix emphasizing that something is exactly what the preceding noun describes. When used as a suffix, it attaches to nouns to mean '... itself' or 'the very ...'.
問題はそのものではなく、対応の仕方だ。
The problem is not the thing itself, but how we deal with it.
彼の態度そのものが気に入らない。
I don't like his attitude itself.