Reflexive Verbs
Learn Reflexive Verbs in English and practice using reflexive pronouns correctly in everyday sentences.
A reflexive verb shows that the subject and the object are the same person or thing. The action goes back to the doer. In English, this meaning is usually shown with a reflexive pronoun after the verb.
English reflexive verbs use reflexive pronouns. You choose the pronoun from the subject. The subject pronoun and the reflexive pronoun must match.
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| I |  myself |
| you | yourself |
| he | himself |
| she | herself |
| it | itself |
| we |  ourselves |
| you | yourselves |
| they | themselves |
The usual pattern is subject + verb + reflexive pronoun. The reflexive pronoun comes after the verb or after the object of a preposition. This pattern shows that a person does something to the same person.
| Rule |
|---|
| Use a reflexive pronoun when the action returns to the subject 🔁. |
| Put the reflexive pronoun after the verb in the usual reflexive pattern 📍. |
| Use the reflexive pronoun that matches the subject pronoun exactly ✅. |
Some English verbs are often used with reflexive pronouns when the action is done to oneself. These verbs help show washing, dressing, preparing, or enjoying an action. The reflexive pronoun is part of the meaning in these patterns.
| Word or Phrase | Definition |
|---|---|
 wash oneself | This means a person washes their own body 🚿. |
 dress oneself | This means a person puts clothes on their own body 👔. |
 introduce oneself | This means a person tells other people who they are 🗣️. |
 hurt oneself | This means a person causes injury to their own body bandage. |
 cut oneself | This means a person makes a cut on their own body 🩹. |
 enjoy oneself | This means a person has a good time 😄. |
English does not use reflexive pronouns with every verb. Many verbs that are reflexive in other languages are usually not reflexive in English. For daily actions, English often uses a normal verb without a reflexive pronoun.
| Rule |
|---|
| Say the action with a normal verb when English does not need a reflexive pronoun 🗣️. |
| Daily actions like washing, shaving, and dressing often appear without a reflexive pronoun in English 🚿. |
| Use a reflexive pronoun only when you need to make the meaning clearly return to the subject 🎯. |
Usage is not always the same in all places or all meanings. Some speakers use a reflexive form to make the action more explicit, and some do not. English usually prefers no reflexive pronoun with many everyday verbs, but reflexive forms also exist in some contexts.
| Region | Word or Phrase | Regional Definition |
|---|---|---|
 General English | wash oneself | This form is possible, but many speakers usually say only the verb for a daily action 🙂. |
| General English | dress oneself | This form is possible, but it is more common when the meaning needs to be clear or formal ✍️. |
| General English |  shave oneself | This form exists, but many speakers often use only the verb in everyday speech 🗨️. |
You can now recognize reflexive verbs in English and choose the correct reflexive pronoun for the subject. You can understand the basic pattern with subject, verb, and reflexive pronoun. You can also see that English does not always use a reflexive form, and usage can change by meaning and style.