Reflexive and emphatic pronouns
Use myself, themselves and other -self pronouns correctly.
Some pronouns end in -self or -selves. They look the same but do two different jobs, and this lesson shows you both.
A reflexive pronoun shows that the action returns to the subject, while an emphatic pronoun uses the same form only to stress a noun or pronoun.
Examples
- Ajay cut himself while shaving. (reflexive)
- The cat licked itself clean. (reflexive)
- I myself checked the answers. (emphatic)
- The minister himself opened the bridge. (emphatic)
- Help yourselves to the snacks, children.
How it works
Reflexive use
Use a reflexive pronoun when the subject and object are the same person or thing. Removing it makes the sentence incomplete.
Meera introduced herself to the team.
Emphatic use
An emphatic pronoun stresses who did something. It usually comes right after the noun or at the end, and the sentence still works without it.
We painted the house ourselves.
Singular or plural you
Use yourself for one person and yourselves for more than one.
Friends, please help yourselves.
Do not overuse -self
A -self pronoun needs a matching subject in the same clause. Do not use it as a fancy way of saying I or me.
Mr Das and I will attend. (not myself)
Quick reference
| Personal pronoun | -self pronoun | Number |
|---|---|---|
| I | myself | singular |
| we | ourselves | plural |
| you | yourself / yourselves | singular / plural |
| he | himself | singular |
| she | herself | singular |
| it | itself | singular |
| they | themselves | plural |
Common mistakes
✕He fixed the cycle hisself.
✓He fixed the cycle himself.
Hisself is not standard English.
✕Myself Rohan, from Nagpur.
✓I am Rohan, from Nagpur.
Introduce yourself with I am, not Myself.
✕The players congratulated theirselves.
✓The players congratulated themselves.
The plural form is themselves.
Worked example
Exercise 1
Tap the reflexive pronoun.
Tara hurt herself while cycling.
✓herself
The action of hurting turns back on Tara, so herself is reflexive.
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