Reflexive pronouns
450 fill-in-the-gap exercises, 45 tests of ten
Used when the subject and the object are the same person. Also used for emphasis.
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When you need one
When the person doing the action and the person receiving it are the same:
She hurt herself. I taught myself. They blamed themselves.
Compare She hurt her, which means she hurt somebody else.
The singular and plural you
English has one you but two reflexives:
Help yourself. — to one person. Help yourselves. — to more than one.
Verbs that are not reflexive in English
A large group is reflexive in other European languages and not in English. This is the commonest source of error:
wash, shave, dress, shower, change, hurry, relax, concentrate, feel, sit down, get up, remember, meet
I washed and got dressed. — not washed myself and dressed myself. I feel better. — not feel myself better.
For emphasis
A reflexive can be added to stress who did something. It carries no grammatical weight and can be removed:
The director himself signed it. I’ll do it myself.
by myself
Means alone or without help:
She lives by herself. He built it by himself.
each other
For two people acting on one another, the reflexive is wrong:
They looked at each other. — two people, two directions. They looked at themselves. — each in a mirror.
All forms
| Subject | Reflexive | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | myself | I cut myself. |
| you (one) | yourself | Help yourself. |
| he | himself | He hurt himself. |
| she | herself | She taught herself. |
| it | itself | The door closed itself. |
| we | ourselves | We enjoyed ourselves. |
| you (more than one) | yourselves | Help yourselves. |
| they | themselves | They blamed themselves. |
Examples
Taken from the 450 sentences in this drill. The answer is highlighted.
- Jake and his friends cooked dinner for themselves last night.
- She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.
- James reminded himself to buy groceries on the way home.
- The computer restarted itself during the update.
- We don't need any help. We can do it ourselves.
- You bought yourself a new book for your birthday.
- I saw myself in the mirror and smiled back.
- You boys will have to carry the boxes yourselves.
- It's important to always be true to oneself.
- The dancers warmed themselves up before the show.
- The actress introduced herself during the interview.
- After exercising, Jake treated himself to a healthy snack.
Mistakes to avoid
Wrong: I feel myself tired. correct: I feel tired.
Feel is not reflexive in English, although it is in many languages.
Wrong: He washed himself and then he dressed himself. correct: He washed and dressed.
Everyday actions like wash, shave and dress take no reflexive in English.
Wrong: Please contact myself. correct: Please contact me.
A reflexive cannot replace an ordinary object pronoun.