Reflexive pronouns

Level: beginner

The reflexive pronouns are:

singular: myself yourself himself herself itself
plural: ourselves yourselves themselves

We use a reflexive pronoun as a direct object when the object is the same as the subject of the verb:

I fell over and hurt myself.
Be careful with that knife. You might cut yourself.

We can use a reflexive pronoun as direct object with most transitive verbs, but these are the most common:

amuse
blame
cut
dry
enjoy
help
hurt
introduce
kill
prepare
satisfy
teach
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Be careful!

We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for themselves:

He washed in cold water.
He always shaved before going out in the evening.
Michael dressed and got ready for the party.

We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:

He dressed himself in spite of his injuries.
She’s old enough to wash herself.

Level: intermediate

We use reflexive pronouns as an indirect object when the indirect object is the same as the subject of the verb:

Would you like to pour yourself a drink?
We’ve brought ourselves something to eat.

We use reflexive pronouns as the object of a preposition when the object is the same as the subject of the verb:

They had to cook for themselves.
He was feeling very sorry for himself.
      

but we use object pronouns, not reflexives, after prepositions of place:

He had a suitcase beside him. (NOT himself)

and after with when it means accompanied by:

She had a few friends with her. (NOT herself)

We use reflexives with the preposition by:

  • to show that someone did something without any help:

The children got dressed by themselves.
I prepared the whole meal by myself.

  • to show that someone was alone:

He lived by himself in an enormous house.
She walked home by herself.

We use reflexive pronouns intensively to emphasise the person or thing we are referring to:

Kendal itself is quite a small town.

  • especially if we are talking about someone very famous:

Sir Paul McCartney himself sang the final song.

We often put the reflexive pronoun at the end of the clause when we are using it intensively for emphasis:

I baked the bread myself.
She mended the car herself.

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Level: advanced

Some verbs change their meaning slightly when they have a reflexive pronoun as direct object:

Would you like to help yourself to another drink?
     = Would you like to take another drink?
I wish the children would behave themselves.
     = I wish the children would behave well.
He found himself lying by the side of the road.
     = He was surprised when he realised that he was lying by the side of the road.
I saw myself as a famous actor.
     = I imagined that I was a famous actor.
She applied herself to the job of mending the lights.
     = She worked very hard to mend the lights.
He busied himself in the kitchen.
     = He worked busily in the kitchen.
I had to content myself with a few euros.
     = I had to be satisfied with a few euros.

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Average
Average: 3.9 (33 votes)

Submitted by Larrie on Tue, 30/07/2019 - 17:48

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Hello Is this sentence correct: Anyone could hurt themself.? or must it say 'themselves'?
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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Wed, 31/07/2019 - 10:28

In reply to by Larrie

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Hello Larrie

I would say 'themselves' here, but I suspect you could find others who prefer 'themself'. Actually, most native speakers would probably try to avoid this form by saying something like 'Someone could get hurt' instead.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by morca on Mon, 14/01/2019 - 13:24

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He busy himself cleaning the car

Submitted by Momocompanyman on Mon, 05/11/2018 - 17:49

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Hello Sir , In the activities above we have the sentence: He (cut) himself shaving today. but I d'ont understand the tense of the verb : cut, normally we say : He cuts. Best wishes
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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Mon, 05/11/2018 - 18:30

In reply to by Momocompanyman

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Hi medmomo,

'cut' is an irregular verb. The base form, past simple form and past participle forms are all the same: 'cut'. In the example sentence you ask about, 'cut' is in the past simple. The present simple wouldn't make sense here, as you rightly point out.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by dipakrgandhi on Fri, 14/09/2018 - 04:55

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I have a question about adding s to her , your , their etc. Hers means belonging to her, and even her means belonging to she/her. Similar is the case with yours/your and theirs/their. Then what exactly is the use of hers, yours, theirs when all those mean almost the same thing as her, your, their. Thanking you Regards

Hello dipakrgandhi

The words my, your, his, her, our and their are examples of possessive adjectives. They are used before nouns:

This is my book.

Where is their car?

The words mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs are examples of possessive pronouns. They are used instead of nouns:

This is mine.

Where is theirs?

 

You can read more about possessive forms here.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by Ricardo A on Tue, 21/08/2018 - 23:50

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"I prepared the whole meal by myself" Can i just use "alone" instead "by myself"? Thank you!

Hello Ricardo,

Both forms are possible, but there is a difference in meaning.

We use by myself when we want to emphasise that we did not need any help. It is often a positive claim,  showing how independent or capable a person is.

We use alone to say that we did not have company; we were the only person involved. It is often a negative claim, showing that the person is not happy that they did not have any help.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by tekdung554 on Mon, 01/01/2018 - 15:26

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Hi there, What is the correct one for following sentences. 1. They were feeling very sorry themselves. 2. She quickly washed herself and dressed herself as she was already late for work.
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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Mon, 01/01/2018 - 15:35

In reply to by tekdung554

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Hello tekdung,

Unless I've misunderstood what is meant, I'm afraid neither one is correct. I'd recommend 'sorry for themselves' in 1 and 'quickly washed and got dressed' in 2.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by eng_gkatrina on Fri, 09/02/2018 - 15:55

In reply to by tekdung554

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Two sentences are false

Submitted by shiitake haslina on Sun, 06/09/2015 - 15:24

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Hi teacher, Good day.. May I know, which is the correct answer? 1) Can she draw the tree herself? We will help her if her cannot. Or 2) Can she draw the tree herself? We will help her if she cannot. Thank you