LoginEmphatic Pronouns
Explore the rules and nuances of emphatic pronouns like 'myself', 'yourself', and 'itself' for emphasis. Detailed explanations, advanced exercises, and a quiz.
What Are Emphatic Pronouns?
Emphatic pronouns, also known as intensive pronouns, share the same form as reflexive pronouns, but they are used differently. Rather than serving as an object, they emphasize the subject or object of the sentence.
English Emphatic Pronouns
Emphatic pronouns either emphasize the subject or object of the sentence, or indicate that somebody did something on their own, without any help. The following is a list of English emphatic pronouns:
Emphatic pronouns | |
|---|---|
1st-person singular | |
2nd-person singular | |
3rd-person singular (F) | |
3rd-person singular (M) | |
3rd-person singular (N) | |
1st-person plural | |
2nd-person plural | |
3rd-person plural |
You yourself said it was a bad idea.
Here, "yourself" puts emphasis on the subject "you."
The students organized the entire event themselves.
In this sentence, "themselves" shows that the students organized the event on their own, without help.
Differences between Emphatic and Reflexive Pronouns
1. Reflexive pronouns indicate that the action of the verb reflects back to the doer, while emphatic pronouns simply emphasize a noun or pronoun without indicating any reflexive relationship.
Mike cut himself while shaving this morning. (Reflexive)
Here, the subject (Mike) and object (himself) refer to the same person.
Mike himself cut the carrots into thin strips. (Emphatic)
Here, the emphatic pronoun 'himself' just emphasizes the subject 'Mike'.
2. An emphatic pronoun can be removed from a sentence without compromising its meaning or grammatical structure, whereas a reflexive pronoun cannot. If a reflexive pronoun is omitted, the sentence will be incomplete and may not make sense.
Mike cut while shaving this morning.
Without the reflexive pronoun 'himself', the sentence would not make sense.
Mike cut the carrots into thin strips.
Without the emphatic pronoun 'himself', the sentence still makes perfect sense.
3. Unlike reflexive pronouns which appear on their own as the object of the verb, emphatic pronouns are always dependent on another noun or pronoun which can be the subject or object of the sentence. Compare the examples:
He bought himself a car.
Here, "himself" is a reflexive pronoun used on its own as the object of the verb.
He bought the car himself.
In this sentence, "himself" is an emphatic pronoun that refers back to the pronoun "he" and can be removed without affecting the sentence.
Emphatic Pronouns: Placement
Emphatic pronouns are typically placed after the pronoun or noun they are emphasizing or at the end of the sentence. They do not function as the subject or the object of a verb.
Sarah called the principal herself.
Here, the emphatic pronoun 'herself' puts emphasis that 'Sarah' made the call.
Prince William himself attended the ball.
In this example, 'Prince William' is the emphasized noun. We call it the antecedent of the emphatic pronoun.
Review
As the list of emphatic pronouns shows, reflexive pronouns and emphatic pronouns have the same form, but they are used in different situations.
reflexive pronouns | intensive pronouns |
|---|---|
they need reflexive verbs | they do not need reflexive verbs |
they are essential to complete the meaning of the sentence | they are not essential for a meaningful sentence |
they reflect back the action upon the subject | they emphasize a noun phrase |
they are used after the verb | they are not used after the verb |
Quiz:
Which of the following sentences contains an emphatic pronoun?
She taught herself how to play the piano.
The children prepared the meal themselves.
I hurt myself while running.
We introduced ourselves to the new neighbors.
Fill the blanks with appropriate emphatic pronouns.
The president
signed the new law.
We built the entire house
.
You should complete the project
.
She painted the entire mural
.
Match each sentence to the correct description of it use.
Classify the pronouns in the sentences below as emphatic or reflexive.
The director herself approved the script. | |
They taught themselves advanced calculus. | |
I myself will handle the negotiations. | |
We baked the cake ourselves. | |
The robot can recharge itself. |
Which of the following sentences correctly employs an emphatic pronoun to emphasize the subject?
The writer herself penned an insightful article.
We examined the proposal itself before considering any revisions.
I finished reading the novel itself in one sitting and read the reviews later.
I met the president himself.
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