Reflexive pronouns are used in English to refer to a noun, adjective, adverb or pronoun when the subject is the same as the object in a clause. Here’s an example: Bob dresses himself. The subject, Bob does the action to him, also the subject, but the pronoun changes to a reflexive pronoun because he is the object, too. You might remember it like being a mirror image – He sees himself – the subject and object refer to the same thing, but himself represents a reflection of the subject. 

This list gives you the reflexive pronouns in the English language, also available in the image at the top of the article:

• I – myself
• you – yourself (or yourselves, plural)
• he – himself
• she – herself
• it – itself
• we – ourselves
• they – themselves

We use reflexive pronouns to either make it clear that the subject is engaged in an activity regarding their own person, or to emphasise that it was done by the subject. These examples should help explain.

Using a reflexive pronoun to demonstrate the object

• Joe washed before dinner. – is a general idea. We don’t know what he washed.
• Joe washed himself before dinner. – tells us that Joe washed his own person. Note that if Joe washed him, not the reflexive pronoun, we would understand that Joe was washing someone else.

In some cases a reflexive pronoun may be omitted if the context makes it clear what the object is. For instance, in Joe washed before dinner it is not clear what he washed, but Because he was dirty from working in the field, Joe washed before dinner. it is clear he washed his own person.

Note that with transitive verbs (those that require an object), a reflexive verb will always be required if the subject and object refer to the same thing. For instance: Susan excused herself from the meeting.

Using the reflexive pronoun for emphasis

The reflexive pronoun emphasises who or what did the action if another object precedes it. For example: I wrote the letter myself. Here myself emphasises the fact that I wrote the letter, and no one else did. Without the object, the letter, the use would change completely: I wrote myself actually means I wrote to myself.

Reflexive pronouns may also sometimes demonstrate the recipient of the action, when the subject and object are not the same. For this use, the reflexive pronoun comes before the object. For example: He made himself a tea. This tells us that the cup of tea was for him. Using our examples from above, if we said I wrote myself a letter. it would mean that I wrote a letter meant for me. Be careful, because although this works with most verbs it can seem quite unnatural. Joe washed himself the car, for instance, would carry the meaning that Joe washed the car for his own satisfaction, but it sounds quite horrible grammatically (though it may be common in certain regional areas).

To test your understanding of the reflexive pronouns, and to further demonstrate their use, here are two exercises:

Reflexive Pronoun Exercise 1

Do the following sentences require a reflexive pronoun or not? The answers and explanations can be found below.

1. My illness has made me dizzy – I don’t feel like myself at the moment.
2. The children enjoyed themselves at the beach.
3. He freed himself from the jail.
4. Brace yourselves for landing!
5. She bathed herself in the sea.
6. Kyle prides himself on his football skills.
7. The council blame themselves for Brighton’s recent snow troubles.
8. No one would help Julia cook, so she did it all herself.
9. I shaved myself this morning. But I cut myself shaving.
10. If you’re feeling yourself ill, take the rest of the day off.
11. The cat washed itself in the sun beam.
12. Can you pass me the sugar yourself?

Reflexive Pronouns Exercise 2

Choose the correct reflexive pronoun to complete the following sentences. Answers below.

1. The door’s unlocked, please let ________ in.
2. He made ________ a cup of tea.
3. They prepared ________ for the worst.
4. I bought ________ a new dress.
5. Your father is very proud of the new balcony, he built it ________.
6. I can’t find the marmalade, you’ll have to get it ________.
7. The fox made ________ a new den.
8. Brighton’s football team did ________ proud.

Exercise 1 Answers

 

1. Yes, feel requires an object. To feel yourself is an idiomatic way of saying you are in good health/mind.
2. Yes – because at the beach is used as a location, so we need to know what they enjoyed. If we didn’t have the preposition at, we might say they enjoyed the beach.
3. Yes – to free requires an object.
4. No it’s not entirely necessarily, as the context of what you are bracing is clear.
5. No, it would be more important to clarify if she was bracing someone else, but without an object we take it to mean she bathes herself.
6. Yes – to pride requires an object, usually a reflexive pronoun.
7. Yes – blame requires an object, in this case themselves.
8. Yes, in this case, as we are emphasising she had no help.
9. Not for the first sentence, as to shave is ordinarily done to yourself, but the second does require the reflexive pronoun as cut is transitive.
10. No – it would be a mistake here, as to feel ill does not take an object.
11. No, in the context it’s clear the cat is washing itself, and it is unlikely to be washing something else.
12. It is not necessary here, but it may be required if we want to emphasise you pass the sugar, not someone else. For whatever reason.

Exercise 2 Answers

 

1. The door’s unlocked, please let yourself in.
2. He made himself a cup of tea.
3. They prepared themselves for the worst. This puts emphasis on the action, though it is not entirely necessary.
4. I bought myself a new dress. This makes it clear that the dress was bought for me, and not someone else.
5. Your father is very proud of the new balcony, he built it himself. No one else built it.
6. I can’t find the marmalade, you’ll have to get it yourself.
7. The fox made itself a new den. A den for the fox.
8. Brighton’s football team did themselves proud. This is an idiomatic expression, to do yourself proud is to complete something worthy of pride.