Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and the object are the same person or thing.
They are also used for emphasis and in some common expressions.

Note: Don’t use reflexive pronouns when the object is a different person: “He saw me” (not “He saw myself”).

1. What Are Reflexive Pronouns?

Reflexive pronouns end in -self / -selves.

Reflexive pronouns for each subject are:

• I → myself
• you → yourself / yourselves
• he → himself
• she → herself
• it → itself
• we → ourselves
• they → themselves

2. Basic Use (Same Subject and Object)

We use reflexive pronouns when the subject and object are the same.
Structure: Subject + verb + reflexive pronoun

Examples:

• “I hurt myself.”
• “She taught herself English online.”
• “They enjoyed themselves at the party.”

Why?

The person does the action and receives the action.

3. After Prepositions

Use a reflexive pronoun after a preposition when the prepositional object is the same as the subject:

• “She is talking to herself.”
• “He kept the money for himself.” (= for his own use)

Use an object pronoun when the prepositional object is a different person/thing:

• “She took the bag with her.” (the bag is with her)

4. For Emphasis

We use reflexive pronouns to emphasize the subject.

Common positions for emphasis:

1. After the subject: Subject + reflexive pronoun + verb: “I myself made it.”
2. At the end: Subject + verb (+ object) + reflexive pronoun: “I made it myself.” / “I did it myself.”

Examples:

• “I did it myself.” (not someone else)
• “She made the cake herself.”
• “We fixed the car ourselves.”

5. By Myself / Yourself / etc.

We use by + reflexive pronoun to mean:

• alone
• without help

Examples:

• “I did the homework by myself.”
• “He lives by himself.”
• “They finished the project by themselves.”

6. Common Expressions

Some expressions use reflexive pronouns:

• “Help yourself.”
• “Make yourself at home.”
• “Behave yourself.”

7. Easy Way to Remember

Use a reflexive pronoun when:

• (1) subject = object (I hurt myself)
• (2) for emphasis (I did it myself)
• (3) in fixed phrases (Help yourself)