Reflexive Pronoun

What are Reflexive Pronouns?

‘Reflexive’ refers to something that is self directed. Reflexive pronouns are pronouns that reflect back to the subject of a sentence. For example, He cleaned the house himself.

Reflexive Pronouns Examples

Reflexive pronouns include words that end with the suffix ‘-self’ and ‘-selves’. There are total nine reflexive pronouns:

→ myself
→ himself
→ herself
→ yourself
→ itself
→ themselves
→ oneself
→ ourselves
→ yourselves

Uses of Reflexive Pronouns

1. They are used to show that the same subject performs and receives an action. It emphasises that the action is done by a particular person and no one else.
2. They provide clarity when we use third person plural forms of pronouns like them, theirs and they.
3. They are used when the subject and the direct object of a sentence are the same. For example, ‘Alice cooked breakfast for herself.’ In this sentence, the subject and the object are the same, which is ‘Alice’. Thus, ‘herself’ is a direct object reflexive pronoun.
4. Sometimes they can play the role of an indirect object. For example, Oliver pours himself a cup of coffee every day.
5. If we do not use a reflexive pronoun and refer to a noun twice as the subject and as the object of a sentence, it will sound unpleasant. For example, Alice cooked breakfast for Alice. Here the proper noun ‘Alice’ is used as the subject and as the object, which is incorrect.

"By" + Reflexive Pronoun

1. When ‘by’ is used with reflexive pronouns it means that the action is done by the subject alone without any help.
2. For example, Bella organised this event by herself.

Reflexive Pronoun vs. Intensive Pronoun

Click Here to Read About: Relative Pronoun

Common Mistakes with Reflexive Pronouns

1. Some students often use reflexive pronouns with compound subjects and compound objects in a sentence. For example, ‘Olivia and myself will bake a cake’ is an incorrect sentence as the reflexive pronoun ‘myself’ is incorrect. The correct sentence will be ‘Olivia and I will bake a cake’.
2. Another common mistake made by some students is that they may misspell reflexive pronouns. For example, they may write ‘He drove a car hisself for the first time’ which is incorrect as the reflexive pronoun is spelled incorrectly. Therefore the correct sentence is ‘He drove a car himself for the first time’.
3. Some students may forget to use reflexive pronouns where it is necessary. For example, they may write ‘he dressed’ instead of ‘he dressed himself’.

Some Examples of Reflexive Pronouns Used in Sentences

→ David was hungry, so he prepared himself the meal.
→ She challenged herself to participate in a marathon.
→ Kelly developed an app by herself.
→ He injured himself while he was running.
→ We can do this project ourselves.
→ I managed to calm myself down.

FAQ’s

1. What are reflexive pronouns?

Answer: Pronouns that reflect back to the sentence’s subject are known as reflexive pronouns. For example, Sammy bought a phone for herself.

2. Are reflexive pronouns necessary?

Answer: It is important to use reflexive pronouns when the subject and the object of the sentence is the same. Repeating a noun twice will make the sentence sound absurd.

3. Are reflexive pronouns singular or plural?

Answer: Reflexive pronouns can be both singular and plural. Examples of singular reflexive nouns are myself, himself, herself, itself, oneself and yourself and examples of plural reflexive pronouns on the other hand are themselves, ourselves and yourselves.

4. How are reflexive pronouns different from intensive pronouns?

Answer: Major difference between reflexive and intensive pronouns is that if we remove an intensive pronoun, the meaning of the sentence will not change. On the other hand, if we remove a reflexive pronoun then the meaning of the sentence will completely change.