Reflexive pronouns show that the subject does an action to itself, and they often appear with reflexive verbs. They help clarify who receives the action.
English Reflexive Pronouns
English reflexive pronouns all end in -self or -selves and match the subject in person and number. They are used when the subject and object are the same.
| Subject | Reflexive Pronoun | |
|---|---|---|
| I | myself | |
| you (singular) | yourself | |
| he | himself | |
| she | herself | |
| it | itself | |
| we | ourselves | |
| you (plural) | yourselves | |
| they | themselves |
I did the project by my own effort.
| Subject Pronoun | Reflexive Pronoun | |
|---|---|---|
| I | myself | |
| You | yourself | |
| He | himself | |
| She | herself | |
| It | itself | |
| We | ourselves | |
| You (pl) | yourselves | |
| They | themselves |
Uses of Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject acts on itself, to add emphasis, and sometimes in expressions or for clarity. They appear after the verb or as an attachable pronoun.
Emphasis
Use a reflexive pronoun to emphasize who did the action, often by placing it after a noun or at the end of a sentence. This adds force to the statement.
| Sentence | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| I fixed the car myself. | I did it without help. | |
| She wrote the report herself. | She was the one who wrote it. | |
| They prepared the meal themselves. | They did all the cooking. | |
| We painted the house ourselves. | We did the work personally. |
Expressions
Some expressions require reflexive pronouns to sound natural, such as help yourself or by myself. These set phrases use reflexives in idiomatic ways.
Clarification
Reflexive pronouns can clarify when an action refers back to the subject and not to someone else, preventing ambiguity in who receives the action. They make sentences more precise.
| Sentence | Possible Confusion | Clarification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| She cut herself. | Did someone else cut her? | She accidentally cut her own finger. | |
| I blamed myself. | Did I blame someone else? | I took the blame personally. | |
| They defended themselves. | Did others defend them? | They spoke up for their own rights. | |
| He looked at himself. | Did he look at someone else? | He saw his own reflection. |
Summary
Reflexive pronouns match the subject and show that the action returns to the doer; use them for actions to oneself, emphasis, set expressions, and clarity. Practice identifying the subject and choosing the matching reflexive to make sentences clear.
Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025