The reflexive pronouns are:

Singular myself - yourself - himself - herself

: - itself

Plural: ourselves - yourselves - themselves

When we use a reflexive pronoun

We use a reflexive pronoun:

• as a direct object when the object is the same as the subject of the verb:

I am teaching myself to play the piano.

Be careful with that knife. You might cut yourself.

We can use a reflexive pronoun as direct object with most transitive verbs, but these
are the most common:

amuse blame cut dry enjoy help

hurt introduce kill prepare satisfy teach

Some verbs change their meaning slightly when they have a reflexive pronoun as
direct object:

 Would you like to help yourself to another drink?

= Would you like to take another drink.

 I wish the children would behave themselves.

= I wish the children would behave well.

 He found himself lying by the side of the road.

= He was surprised when he realised that he was at the side of the road.
 I saw myself as a famous actor.
= I imagined that I was a famous actor.

 She applied herself to the job of mending the lights.

= She worked very hard to mend the lights.

 He busied himself in the kitchen.

= He worked busily in the kitchen.

 I had to content myself with a few Euros.

= I had to be satisfied with a few Euros.

We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do
for themselves, such as wash, shave, dress:

He washed [himself] in cold water.

He always shaved [himself] before going out in the evening.
Michael dressed [himself] and got ready for the party.

We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:

He dressed himself in spite of his injuries.

She’s old enough to wash herself.

• as indirect object when the indirect object is the same as the subject of the
verb:

Would you like to pour yourself a drink.

We’ve brought ourselves something to eat.

• as the object of a preposition when the object refers to the subject of the clause:

They had to cook for themselves.

He was feeling very sorry for himself.

Warning

But we use personal pronouns, not reflexives, after prepositions of place...

He had a suitcase beside him.

and after with when it means "accompanied by":

She had a few friends with her.

We use a reflexive pronoun...

• with the preposition by when we want to show that someone did
something alone and/or without any help:

He lived by himself in an enormous house.

She walked home by herself.

The children got dressed by themselves.

I prepared the whole meal by myself.

• to emphasise the person or thing we are referring to:

Kendal itself is quite a small town.

especially if we are talking about someone very famous:

Sir Paul McCartney himself sang the final song.

We often put the reflexive pronoun at the end of the clause when we are using it for
emphasis:

I baked the bread myself.

She mended the car herself

Mary, you shouldn't blame ............... for the accident.

Don't worry about us. We can amuse ............... for an hour or two.

I never really had lessons, I just taught ...............

I thought it was a bit rude. She never introduced ...............

It's long time since they've enjoyed ............... so much.

It's a very clever machine. It turns ............... off.

He cut ............... shaving today.

Ladies and gentlemen. There's masses of food, so please help ...........

The tennis players shook hands with

at the end of their match.

Dear Sue, We're enjoying

very much here in Brazil.

My father talks to

all the time!

 She went on holiday by

. I would never do that. The cat cleaned

with its tongue.

Reflexive pronouns

English doesn’t really have reflexive verbs the way that many other languages do.
However, when the same person is the subject and object of the verb we usually use
a reflexive pronoun.

 I cut myself shaving this morning.

The subject – I – is also the object of the sentence – so we use the reflexive
pronoun, myself.

 Why don’t you buy yourself a new car? This one’s really unreliable.
 He looked at himself in the mirror.

 She taught herself Italian using a book.

 The washing machine switches itself off when it’s finished.

 We kept ourselves warm around the fire.

 Tell me all about yourselves.

 Hedgehogs protect themselves from predators by rolling into a ball.

‘Enjoy’ is often used with a reflexive pronoun.

 Did you enjoy yourself at the party?

 From their postcard it sounds as if they’re really enjoying themselves.

‘By yourself’ means ‘alone’

 He lives by himself in a cottage by the sea.

 I’m rather anti-social. I love being by myself.
 Reflexive pronouns can also be used with nouns to mean ‘Me (or you/him/her etc)
and nobody else’

 Did you do this homework yourself or did you get help?

 Did you talk to the manageress herself or just to one of her assistants?

There is an important difference between reflexive pronouns and reciprocal

pronouns

 They looked at themselves in the mirror. This is reflexive.

 They looked at each other lovingly. This is reciprocal. He looked at her and she
looked at him.

Reflexive Pronouns

English Grammar Rules

When the Subject and the Object in a sentence refer to the same person or thing we use
a Reflexive Pronoun.

It is the only area of English grammar that is reflexive.

Subject Reflexive
Pronouns Pronouns

I Myself

You Yourself

He Himself

She Herself

It Itself

We Ourselves

You (pl) Yourselves

They Themselves
If you are using YOU in the plural, the reflexive pronoun is yourselves.

Examples of sentences using reflexive pronouns:

 My daughter likes to dress herself without my help.

 I taught myself to play the guitar.

 My cat always licks itself.

When to use reflexive pronouns

1. When the subject and the object refer to the same person or thing.

 He accidentally cut himself while he was chopping the vegetables.

 She bought a present for herself.

 We helped ourselves to the free drinks at the launch party.

 They injured themselves during the rugby match.

 I enjoyed myself at the concert.

 The dog is scratching itself – it must have fleas!

2. We use them for emphasis.

 The author signed the book for me herself!

 I did it myself.

3. In some cases we use it to have a similar meaning to also.

 Annabelle was pretty happy last night. I was pretty happy myself.

When NOT to use reflexive pronouns

1. There are a number of verbs in English with which we rarely or never use reflexive pronouns (as
they are in other languages).

They include: adapt, complain, concentrate, get up, hide, lie down, meet, move, relax, remember,
shave, shower, sit down.

2. After a preposition of place or location we use a personal pronoun and not a reflexive pronoun.

 He put the backpack next to him.

Ourselves, Themselves and Each Other
1. We use each other when two or more people or things perform the same action to the other.

 Our neighbors were shouting at each other all night.

 My brothers always compete with each other in sport.

2. Take note of the difference between these two sentences:

 Mark and Sarah killed themselves. (They each committed suicide).

 Mark and Sarah killed each other. (Mark killed Sarah and she killed Mark).

More about Each Other

We use the reciprocal pronoun each other when the action is between two people, and not reflexive.

 They stared into each other's eyes.

 The hate each other.

And to make the contrast clearer:

 Mike and Carol bought each other presents for Christmas

(Mike bought a present for Carol and Carol bought a present for Mike).

is very different to
 Mike and Carol bought themselves presents for Christmas
(Mike bought a present for himself and Carol bought a present for herself).

Reflexive Pronouns with Objects

We use verb + reflexive pronoun + object when we do something for ourselves.

 She cooked herself a quiche.

 We taught ourselves French.

We use verb + object + reflexive pronoun when we want to emphasize that another person did not
do the action (or assist).

 I repaired the tire myself.

 They did the homework themselves.

 My brother spoke to his boss himself about a raise.

By + Reflexive Pronouns
We use by + myself/yourself/himself etc when we are alone or not with another person.

 Jacob went to the party by himself.

 Emma was sitting by herself.

In English grammar, a reflexive pronoun indicates that the person who is realizing the action of the
verb is also the recipient of the action. While this might seem strange at first glance, the following
examples of reflexive pronouns and the accompanying list of reflexive pronouns will help you gain
thorough understanding. In fact, you will probably notice that you yourself use reflexive pronouns
frequently when speaking or writing.

Examples of Reflexive Pronouns

In the following examples of reflexive pronouns, the reflexive pronoun in each sentence is italicized.

1. I was in a hurry, so I washed the car myself.

2. You’re going to have to drive yourself to school today.

3. He wanted to impress her, so he baked a cake himself.

4. Jennifer does chores herself because she doesn’t trust others to do them right.

5. That car is in a class all by itself.

6. We don’t have to go out; we can fix dinner ourselves.

7. You are too young to go out by yourselves.

8. The actors saved the local theatre money by making costumes themselves.

Reflexive Pronoun Exercises

The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how reflexive pronouns work.
Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

1. Each morning, I brush my teeth and stare at ______________ in the mirror.

A. Himself
 B. Herself

C. Myself

D. Itself

Answer: C. Each morning, I brush my teeth and stare at myself in the mirror.

2. Dad and I painted the trailer _______________.

A. Myself

B. Himself

C. Itself

D. Ourselves

Answer: D. Dad and I painted the trailer ourselves.

3. The children made holiday decorations by ________________.

A. Itself

B. Ourselves

C. Themselves

D. Their selves

Answer: C. The children mad holiday decorations by themselves.

4. Paul copies his friend’s homework instead of doing it _______________.

A. Itself

B. Himself

C. Myself

D. Yourself

Answer: B. Paul copies his friend’s homework instead of doing it himself.

5. Please make ________________ at home while you wait.

A. Themselves
 B. Himself

C. Yourselves

D. Herself

Answer: C. Please make yourselves at home while you wait.

Reflexive Pronouns List

As you read through the following list of reflexive pronouns, consider ways to use them in sentences
like the ones in the preceding section.

Myself

Yourself

Herself

Himself

Itself

Yourselves

Ourselves

Themselves