Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are formed by the addition of the suffix self (singular) or selves (plural) to
simple pronouns such as my, your, her, him, it, them and our.

My + self = Myself
Your + self = Yourself
Our + self = Ourselves
Them + selves = Themselves
It + self = Itself

When the subject and the object refer to the same person, a reflexive pronoun is used for the
object.

I cut myself. (Here the subject and the object refer to the same person – I.)
You cut yourself. (Here the subject and the object refer to the same person – you.)
She cut herself. (Here the subject and the object refer to the same person – she.)
The child cut itself.
We cut ourselves.

Note: When self is used independently, it is a noun and not a pronoun.

An honest man keeps his self free from all vices.
One’s self is always more important to one than anything else.

Emphatic pronouns
When reflexive pronouns are used to put emphasis on a particular noun they are called emphatic
pronouns.

He himself told me this.

I finished the job myself.
They themselves admitted their mistake.
We ourselves witnessed the accident.

Notes:
The emphatic pronouns cannot be used as subjects. It is therefore wrong to say:
John and myself went there.
Herself swam in the river.
I invited herself to tea.

The correct sentences are as follows:

John and I went there.
She swam in the river.
I invited her to tea.
Difference between reflective and emphatic pronouns
A pronoun is a reflexive one if the action of the subject reflects upon the doer. Emphatic
pronouns, on the other hand, are used to just emphasize the action of the subject.

He cut himself. (Reflexive: here the subject and object refer to the same person.)
He himself cut the cake. (Emphatic: here the emphatic pronoun himself merely puts emphasis on
the noun he.)
I spoke to the principal myself. (Emphatic)
You must blame yourself for the loss. (Reflexive)

Note that an emphatic pronoun can be removed from the sentence and the core meaning would
not be affected. A reflexive pronoun, on the other hand, is indispensable. The sentence wouldn’t
make complete sense if you remove the reflexive pronoun.

Compare:
He himself cut the cake. He cut the cake.
He cut himself. He cut …what?

You will have noticed that in the first pair of sentences, the core meaning doesn’t change when
the emphatic pronoun himself is removed from the sentence. In the second pair of sentences, the
meaning changes or becomes incomplete when the reflexive pronoun is removed.

Notes:
If the reflexive pronoun in a sentence is replaced by the reciprocal pronoun ‘each other’, the
meaning of the sentence changes drastically.

Compare:
John and Peter blamed themselves for the loss. (John blamed himself and Peter blamed himself.)
John and Peter blamed each other for the loss. (John blamed Peter and Peter blamed John.)

http://www.englishpractice.com/improve/reflexive-emphatic-pronouns/

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.

Examples of Reflexive Pronouns

In the following examples of reflexive pronouns, the reflexive pronoun in each sentence is
italicized.

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

http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/reflexive-pronouns/

reflexive (adj.) [grammar]: reflecting back on the subject, like a mirror

We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause.
Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).

There are eight reflexive pronouns:

reflexive pronoun
myself
singular yourself
himself, herself, itself
ourselves
plural yourselves
themselves
Look at these examples:

non-reflexive REFLEXIVE pronouns

the underlined words are NOT the same the underlined words are the SAME
person/thing person/thing
John saw me. I saw myself in the mirror.
Why does he blame you? Why do you blame yourself?
David sent him a copy. John sent himself a copy.
David sent her a copy. Mary sent herself a copy.
My dog hurt the cat. My dog hurt itself.
We blame you. We blame ourselves.
Can you help my children? Can you help yourselves?
They cannot look after the babies. They cannot look after themselves.
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/pronouns-reflexive.htm

Reflexive Pronouns
Non-reflexive: Adam e-mailed him a copy of the report.

In this sense the italicized words are not the same person. Him is not a reflection of Adam
therefore it is not a reflexive pronoun.

Reflexive: Adam e-mailed himself a copy of the report.

Here are the italicized words are the same person. Himself reflects back to the subject of the
sentence which is Adam.

Non-reflexive: Allison accidentally cut her with the scissors.

Reflexive: Allison accidentally cut herself.

Non-reflexive: Brandon blames you.

Reflexive: Brandon blames himself.

Non-reflexive: Can you feed my guests?

Reflexive: Can you feed yourselves?

Non-reflexive: They cannot help the angry mob.

Reflexive: They cannot help themselves.

Non-reflexive: Carol poured her a glass of milk.

Reflexive: Carol poured herself a glass of milk.
Non-reflexive: The young girl was singing happily to them.
Reflexive: The young girl was singing happily to herself.

More examples of reflexive pronouns:

I gave myself 12 weeks to get in shape.

You should buy yourself a new computer.

Diane bought herself a new pair of shoes.

Jeff read quietly to himself.

The kitten groomed itself.

We treated ourselves to a night on the town.

The students are able to monitor themselves.

Reflexive Pronouns and Intensive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns can also function as intensive pronouns but they act a little differently and
they aren’t used in quite the same way. An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent, or the
subject of the sentence. These pronouns are positioned right next to the subject.

Examples:

I myself am tired of all this rain.

You yourself are to blame for this confusion.

The president himself wrote me a letter.

We ourselves cooked the cake.

The dog itself opened her fridge raider.

The boys themselves led the entire team to victory.

To recap, reflexive pronouns refer back to, or reflect, the subject and they always end in –self or
–selves. There are only eight reflexive pronouns so remembering them and how to use them
should be a snap.

http://www.k12reader.com/term/reflexive-pronouns/