Emphatic 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 statements about emphatic pronouns is true?
Emphatic pronouns can function as the object of a verb.
Emphatic pronouns always appear before the subject of the sentence.
Removing an emphatic pronoun from a sentence affects its grammatical correctness.
Emphatic pronouns emphasize a noun or pronoun but are not essential for meaning.
Sort the words to form a correct sentence with an emphatic pronoun.
Match each incomplete sentence with the correct ending.
Fill the table by identifying the type of pronoun: Emphatic or Reflexive.
The actress herself signed the autograph. | |
She prepared herself for the meeting. | |
You all can do it yourselves. | |
John himself completed the project. | |
He blamed himself for the accident. | |
I talked to the manager himself. |
Where is an emphatic pronoun usually placed in a sentence?
Immediately after the verb
After the noun or pronoun it emphasizes
Before the subject of the sentence
Before the main verb of the sentence
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