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Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

This document provides information about reflexive and intensive pronouns: - Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence and are always objects, such as "myself" and "yourself." Intensive pronouns add emphasis to the subject or object but are not essential to the sentence's meaning. - Examples are given of sentences using reflexive and intensive pronouns correctly. Exercises then test the reader's ability to identify reflexive and intensive pronouns in sentences. The document aims to explain the difference and proper usage of these similar but distinct types of pronouns.

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2K views5 pages

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

This document provides information about reflexive and intensive pronouns: - Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence and are always objects, such as "myself" and "yourself." Intensive pronouns add emphasis to the subject or object but are not essential to the sentence's meaning. - Examples are given of sentences using reflexive and intensive pronouns correctly. Exercises then test the reader's ability to identify reflexive and intensive pronouns in sentences. The document aims to explain the difference and proper usage of these similar but distinct types of pronouns.

Uploaded by

Rosenda N. Gulane
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to Use Reflexive Pronouns

By Education Editor

Pronouns are words used to replace nouns. Reflexive pronouns are used to refer back to the
original noun or subject of the sentence. These pronouns include myself, yourself, himself
and ourselves. Follow these tips to use reflexive pronouns properly in sentences.

Use reflexive pronouns to refer back to someone. For example, "I found myself lost." The
word myself refers back to "I."

Place the reflexive pronoun after the subject to add emphasis to the word as in the sentences
"I myself am lost" or "The book was given to the king himself."

Notice that the reflexive pronoun can come at the beginning or the end of a sentence as long
as it follows the subject it describes.

Make sure the sentence makes sense when you use a reflexive pronoun. You should not use a
reflexive pronoun in the following sentence: She gave Ben and myself a ticket. The correct
sentence should read, "She gave Ben and me a ticket."

Check the sentence by taking out Ben. In the first sentence, it would read "She gave myself a
ticket" which sounds incorrect when read that way. The second sentence would read "She
gave me a ticket." The second sentence is correct.

Use plural reflexive pronouns when you are talking about more than one person. For
example, write "they hurt themselves" if you have more than one person. If you only had one
person, you would use the pronouns he or she at the beginning of the sentence not they.

Write "itself" if you are referring to a thing instead of a person. For example, you would say
"the cat hurt itself" not himself or herself when referring to an animal.

In English grammar, a reflexive pronoun indicates that the person who is realizing the action of the
verb is also the recipient of the action. While this might seem strange at first glance, the following
examples of reflexive pronouns and the accompanying list of reflexive pronouns will help you gain
thorough understanding. In fact, you will probably notice that you yourself use reflexive pronouns
frequently when speaking or writing.

1. I was in a hurry, so I washed the car myself.


2. You’re going to have to drive yourself to school today.
3. He wanted to impress her, so he baked a cake himself.
4. Jennifer does chores herself because she doesn’t trust others to do them right.
5. That car is in a class all by itself.
6. We don’t have to go out; we can fix dinner ourselves.
7. You are too young to go out by yourselves.
8. The actors saved the local theatre money by making costumes themselves.

Reflexive Pronoun Exercises


The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how reflexive
pronouns work. Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

1. Each morning, I brush my teeth and stare at ______________ in the mirror.


A. Himself
B. Herself
C. Myself
D. Itself

Answer: C. Each morning, I brush my teeth and stare at myself in the mirror.

2. Dad and I painted the trailer _______________.


A. Myself
B. Himself
C. Itself
D. Ourselves

Answer: D. Dad and I painted the trailer ourselves.

3. The children made holiday decorations by ________________.


A. Itself
B. Ourselves
C. Themselves
D. Their selves

Answer: C. The children mad holiday decorations by themselves.

4. Paul copies his friend’s homework instead of doing it _______________.


A. Itself
B. Himself
C. Myself
D. Yourself

Answer: B. Paul copies his friend’s homework instead of doing it himself.

5. Please make ________________ at home while you wait.


A. Themselves
B. Himself
C. Yourselves
D. Herself

Answer: C. Please make yourselves at home while you wait.

Reflexive Pronouns List

As you read through the following list of reflexive pronouns, consider ways to use them in
sentences like the ones in the preceding section.

Myself
Yourself

Herself

Himself

Itself

Yourselves

Ourselves

Themselves

What Is an Intensive Pronoun?

An intensive pronoun is almost identical to a reflexive pronoun. It is defined as a pronoun


that ends in self or selves and places emphasis on its antecedent by referring back to another
noun or pronoun used earlier in the sentence. For this reason, intensive pronouns are
sometimes called emphatic pronouns.

You can test a word to see whether it’s an intensive pronoun by removing it from the
sentence and checking to see if the sentence has the same impact.

Reflexive vs. Intensive Pronouns

You can tell the difference between a reflexive pronoun and an intensive pronoun easily:
Intensive pronouns aren’t essential to a sentence’s basic meaning. Understanding this basic
difference will help to prevent you from confusing the two.

Both intensive and reflexive pronouns end in the suffix –self or –selves, however reflexive
pronouns are always objects that refer to a sentence’s subject. The following example shows
a reflexive pronoun in action:

Jim made himself coffee.

Without the reflexive pronoun himself, it would be impossible for the reader to know who
Jim made coffee for.

In the next example, himself is used as an intensive pronoun. The reader would be able to
understand the sentence’s complete meaning without this pronoun, but it serves to add
emphasis:

Jim made coffee for the king himself.

Here, himself refers to the king rather than to Jim. The reader is meant to be impressed that
Jim made coffee for the king.
Common Intensive Pronouns

The following list contains the most commonly used examples of intensive pronouns.

 Himself
 Herself
 Yourself
 Themselves
 Ourselves

Intensive pronouns might not be necessary, but they serve the important function of making
your writing more interesting as well as more meaningful, particularly in formal situations.
Use them sparingly to ensure that the emphasis they provide isn’t lost.

Intensive Pronoun Examples

Intensive pronouns are used to add emphasis to statements. In the following examples, the
intensive pronouns have been italicized for ease of identification.

1. Jesse wondered aloud whether he himself was the only one seeing what was happening.
2. Maria knew that she herself could make a positive impact on the world, if only she put her
mind to it.
3. You yourself can easily transform your body: All it takes is a proper diet and plenty of
exercise.
4. The team knew that they themselves were responsible for playing their best.
5. We ourselves are the ones who make the greatest impact upon the world we live in.

Intensive Pronoun Exercises

Choose the correct intensive pronoun to fill the blank in each sentence.

1. We built a garden shed by ______________.


A. Myself
B. Ourselves
C. Themselves
D. Himself
2. Jordan made _____________ a sandwich, complete with pickles.
A. Ourselves
B. Yourself
C. Himself
D. Themselves
3. I’m a little nervous about walking by _____________ after dark.
A. Myself
B. Ourselves
C. Themselves
D. Herself
4. The twins are growing up fast; they’re already walking by _____________.
A. Myself
B. Ourselves
C. Himself
D. Themselves
5. Jennifer sewed her dress ____________.
A. Myself
B. Himself
C. Ourselves
D. Herself

Answer Key

1. B – We built a garden shed by ourselves.


2. C – Jordan made himself a sandwich, complete with pickles.
3. A – I’m a little nervous about walking by myself after dark.
4. D – The twins are growing up fast; they’re already walking by themselves.
5. D – Jennifer sewed her dress herself.

Intensive vs. Reflexive Pronoun Exercises

Identify the italicized word as either a reflexive pronoun or an intensive pronoun.

1. Ben built a boat for himself


A. Reflexive pronoun
B. Intensive pronoun
2. My mother bakes our family’s bread herself.
A. Reflexive pronoun
B. Intensive pronoun
3. The mayor herself appeared at the rally.
A. Reflexive pronoun
B. Intensive pronoun

Answer Key

1. A – Reflexive pronoun
2. B – Intensive pronoun
3. B – Intensive pronoun

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