Grammar › Nouns & Determiners › Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, themselves…) have two main uses:
- Subject = object — She cut herself; They enjoyed themselves.
- Emphasis — I'll do it myself; The chef himself served us.
'By myself' = alone/without help. Don't add a reflexive after wash, shave, dress, feel, relax, concentrate.
The reflexive pronouns
| Subject | Reflexive |
|---|---|
| I | myself |
| you (one) | yourself |
| he / she / it | himself / herself / itself |
| we | ourselves |
| you (plural) | yourselves |
| they | themselves |
When to use them
1. Subject and object are the same
- I hurt myself. She taught herself to paint. They enjoyed themselves.
2. For emphasis
- I built it myself. The president himself apologised.
3. by + reflexive = alone / without help
- He lives by himself. Did you do this by yourself?
⚠️ Don’t use a reflexive after everyday verbs like wash, shave, dress, feel, relax: I feel better (not
feel myself better); She got dressed (notdressed herself, unless stressing the effort).
Common mistakes
1. Reflexive after ‘feel’. I feel myself tired → I feel tired.
2. Wrong pronoun for emphasis. I made it me → I made it myself.
3. ‘yourselves’ for one person. Help yourselves (to one guest) → Help yourself (one person) / Help yourselves (more than one). Pro tip: reflexive when subject = object, or for emphasis; ‘by + reflexive’ = alone.
✏️ Practice: Reflexive Pronouns
1. Be careful with the knife — you might cut ___ .
2. The children really enjoyed ___ at the party.
3. I don't need help — I'll do it ___ .
4. She taught ___ to play the guitar.
5. He lives ___ himself in the countryside. (alone)
6. Please help ___ to some cake. (to one guest)
7. The manager ___ came to apologise. (emphasis)
8. Correct this: 'I feel myself much better today.'
9. Correct this: 'Did you paint the room by yourselves?' (one person)
10. When do you use a reflexive pronoun?
Frequently asked questions
When do I use a reflexive pronoun?
When the subject and object are the same: I hurt myself; He introduced himself. Also for emphasis: I painted it myself.
What does 'by myself' mean?
Alone or without help: I live by myself; She fixed it by herself.
Which verbs don't take a reflexive?
Everyday actions like wash, shave, dress, feel, relax, concentrate: say 'I got dressed' and 'I feel fine', not 'dressed myself' (unless stressing difficulty) or 'feel myself fine'.
Is it 'themself' or 'themselves'?
The standard plural is 'themselves'. 'Themself' is increasingly used for a single person of unknown/non-binary gender, but 'themselves' is safest in formal writing.
👩🏫 For teachers
CEFR objectives for “Reflexive Pronouns”:
- Can use reflexive pronouns when subject and object are the same (CEFR A2).
- Can use reflexives for emphasis and 'by + reflexive' for 'alone'.
- Can avoid reflexives after verbs like wash, feel and relax.
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