Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns are used to show that the subject and object of a sentence are exactly the same person or thing or there is a direct connection between them.
What Are Reflexive Pronouns?
The term 'reflexive' comes from the word 'reflect'; this is useful to remember because a reflexive pronoun reflects back upon a sentence's subject.
Reflexive Pronouns
You can find a list of these pronouns in the table below:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First | myself | ourselves |
| Second | yourself | yourselves |
| Third | himself, herself, itself | themselves |
Tip!
In most cases in the English language, the second-person singular and plural pronouns look the same. But, in this case, the two are different: 'yourself' is the second-person singular and 'yourselves' is the second-person plural pronoun.
Let us look at some examples:
Whenever I fail, I tell
In this sentence, you can indicate that 'myself' refers to a previously mentioned pronoun, which is 'I' here.
They were arguing amongst
Reflexive Pronouns Cannot Be Subjects
These pronouns cannot stand as the subject of the sentence. For example, in the sentence 'The mayor himself announced this,' the reflexive pronoun 'himself' is not the subject of the verb. It is merely used for emphasis and can be removed from the sentence. It is therefore called an emphatic pronoun.
Necessity of Using a Reflexive Pronoun
It is possible to use an object pronoun to show if the subject and object of a sentence are the same, but it is only possible if the subject is first-person (or in some cases second-person) singular. Take a look at this example:
In this example, by using an objective pronoun, we can make it clear that the subject and the object are the same person.
But in second and specially third person, using this structure may lead to ambiguity. Look at this example:
In this example, it is impossible to distinguish if the subject 'He' and the object 'him' are the same person (he may have seen another man in the mirror). In this case it is necessary to use a reflexive pronoun to make it clear.
Here, by using a reflexive pronoun, it is shown that the subject and object of the sentence are definitely the same.
When to Use Reflexive Pronouns
We use reflexive pronouns in a number of ways. Here are some of the usages of these pronouns:
1. When Subject and Object Are the Same
Reflexive pronouns can be both a direct and indirect object. Sometimes, it happens that the subject and the object of a sentence are the same person; in this case, we use a personal pronoun or a name as the subject and use the agreeing personal pronoun as the object.
I hurt
As you can see, the subject and the object both refer to the same person.
When a reflexive pronoun is an indirect object, it demonstrates why or for whom the action is performed. For example:
I bought
This is exactly the same as 'I bought a new car for me.'
Sam makes a cup of coffee for
Or we can also say Sam makes himself a cup of coffee.
2. When We Want to Emphasize the Subject or Antecedent in a Sentence
Emphatic pronoun (also called Intensive pronouns) are used to show emphasis usually by indicating that the subject did the action alone and without help.
All reflexive pronouns can also be intensive pronouns; the difference is that if you delete an intensive pronoun from a sentence, the sentence would remain complete and meaningful. Therefore, intensive pronouns are not essential to the structure of the sentence.
I told my son that he has to do his homework
Here, if you delete 'himself' from the sentence, the sentence would remain meaningful and structurally complete, so 'himself' is an intensive pronoun.
She hurt
Here, if you delete 'herself' the sentence would become incomplete, so 'herself' is a reflexive pronoun here.
Using The Reflexive Pronoun 'Himself' as the Object
Emphatic Pronoun Vs. Reflexive Pronoun
It is important to know that emphatic pronouns do not take the position of an object in a sentence. 'They' usually come before the verb or at the end of the sentence. Sometimes by changing the position you can change an emphatic pronoun to a reflexive pronoun or vice versa. Look at these two sentences:
He
In this example, 'himself' is placed before the verb and is an 'emphatic pronoun.'
He bought
In this example, 'himself' is placed in the position of an indirect object and is a 'reflexive pronoun.'
Intensive pronouns can be used with 'by' to emphasize doing something alone. In this case, it is not always necessary to use 'by,' but it can make the meaning clearer and distinguish an emphatic pronoun from a reflexive pronoun. Take a look at these examples:
Carl wanted to go to the party (by)
Here, it is emphasized that he wanted to go to the party 'on his own.'
I want to finish the race (by)
Remember, this sentence is exactly the same as I want to finish the race 'on my own.'
Object Pronoun or Reflexive Pronoun?
After the prepositions 'for' and 'by,' we can use reflexive pronouns, but after prepositions of place we use object pronouns, not reflexives.
He had a suitcase beside himself)
As you know, 'beside' is the preposition of place, so we must use an 'object pronoun.'
She had a few friends with herself)
In this example, 'with' is a preposition which cannot be followed by a 'reflexive pronoun.'
3. When We Want to Be Polite
You can use reflexive pronouns to refer to someone politely. In this case, usually 'yourself' and 'yourselves' are used and other reflexive pronouns are rare.
I think an educated man like
In this example, using 'yourself' instead of 'you' makes the sentence more polite.
We welcome gentlemen such as
In the situations like this, instead of 'you,' we can use 'yourselves' to be more polite.
4. When We Are Using a Reflexive Verb
Generally, if a verb's object is a reflexive pronoun, that verb is called a reflexive verb. To be more specific, the subject and the direct object of reflexive verbs refer to the same person/thing. Look at the following example:
My daughter
Here, 'threw' is a reflexive verb since the object and the subject refer to the same person.
Some verbs such as 'perjure' are always reflexive; meaning that they always need a reflexive pronoun as their object.
I couldn't believe it when Richard told me that he had
As it is mentioned, 'perjure' is a reflexive verb, so it is always followed by a reflexive pronoun.
Examples of Reflexive Verbs
There are also some verbs that if you use them with reflexive pronouns, their meanings change. Below, you can find some of these verbs and their meanings. Notice that while using these verbs you can replace 'oneself' with any reflexive pronoun:
| Reflexive Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Amuse oneself | Do something to pass the time |
| Apply oneself | Work and try hard |
| Content oneself with | Settle down for something less than one’s desire |
| Behave oneself | Act appropriately |
| Find oneself | Learn about and understand oneself |
| Help oneself (to) | Serve food/drink for oneself |
For these verbs the meaning of the verb without a reflexive object is very different from the meaning here. Let us look at some examples of these verbs:
The ski lodge was closed, so we had to
In this example, if we omit the reflexive object, it does not mean to settle down anymore.
Please,
As you must know, 'help' has a different meaning without the combination of reflexive object.
Carol said she needs some time to
It is good to know that 'find' does not mean 'to understand' without the reflexive object.
Impersonal Reflexive Pronoun
In addition to the reflexive pronouns mentioned earlier, there is one more personal pronoun: 'oneself.' 'Oneself' like 'one' does not refer to a specific person, and you can use it in two ways:
- Like other reflexive pronouns, to refer to a previously mentioned noun/pronoun:
One must be careful not to put
'Oneself' refers to previously mentioned 'one.' As you know. it is the same as 'you must be careful not to put yourself in danger.'
- As the object of the sentence when there is no clear subject:
It's important to give
In this statement, it is not clear who the subject is, so we can use 'oneself' as an object.
Reflexive Pronoun for the Singular 'They'
In the past, for indefinite singular pronouns, people used the more traditional, more complicated, he or she instead of they. But the singular 'they' has been used for exactly this purpose. So, when we do not want to mention the gender-specific 'he' or 'she' in our sentence, we can use 'they' and 'themselves' instead. We can still use him- or herself. They are all correct.
Every person needs to take responsibility for
Themselves, herself, himself are all alternatives. In fact we use themselves in order not to mention the gender.
Every person needs to take responsibility for
Every person needs to take responsibility for
Review
Reflexive pronouns are used to show the relationship between the subject and the object of the sentences. In English, they are; myself, yourself, himself. herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.
Reflexive pronouns are the same as emphatic pronouns, but the only difference between them is the necessity of them in a sentence to complete the meaning. As you know intensive pronouns can be omitted from the sentence without changing the meaning. But a reflexive pronoun is necessary to complete the meaning.
| functions | examples |
|---|---|
| when subject and object are the same |
They ordered |
| when we want to emphasize the subject or antecedent in a sentence |
He |
| when we want to be polite |
I need |
| when we use a reflexive verb |
Enjoy |
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