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.

1. What Are Reflexive Pronouns?

Reflexive pronouns end in -self / -selves.
List:

• 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."
• "They enjoyed themselves at the party."

Why?

The person does the action and receives the action.

3. After Prepositions

We can use a reflexive pronoun after a preposition when the prepositional phrase refers back to the subject (the subject is the same person):

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

But use an object pronoun when it means ‘with/next to/for’ in a normal way:

• "She took the bag with her."

4. Common Verbs with Reflexive Pronouns

Some verbs are commonly followed by a reflexive pronoun in everyday English. Note: These verbs can often be used without a reflexive pronoun too. The reflexive form usually means 'the subject experiences the action personally' (e.g., enjoy yourself = have fun).

For example:

• enjoy → "I enjoyed myself."
• hurt → "He hurt himself."
• teach → "She taught herself English." (compare: "She taught English for ten years.")
• cut → "Be careful! You might cut yourself."

5. For Emphasis (Important Use at B1)

We use reflexive pronouns to emphasise the subject.

Common positions for emphasis:

1. Subject + reflexive pronoun + verb: "I myself made it."
2. Subject + verb + object + reflexive pronoun / or at the end: "I made it myself."

Examples:

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

"'I did it myself' usually means 'not someone else did it' (and it can also suggest 'without help')."

6. 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."

'I did it by myself' means 'alone / without help'.

7. Common Expressions

Some expressions use reflexive pronouns:

• "Help yourself."
• "Make yourself at home."
• "Behave yourself."

8. 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)