What a Reflexive Pronoun Is
A reflexive pronoun is a word like myself, yourself or herself. It goes in the object place when the receiver (the person who gets the action) is the same as the doer (the person who does it).
THE SAME PERSONMai looks at Mai
Mai and herself are one person.
Mai looked at herself in the mirror.
She saw her own face.
TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLEMai sees another woman
Her is somebody else, not Mai.
Mai saw her at the bus stop.
Maybe she saw a friend.
When the doer and the receiver are the same, use -self or -selves. But feel does not take one: I felt tired this morning, not I felt myself tired.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"Be careful! Don't burn on the stove."
- Question 2
"After the long walk, Nam felt ."
The eight forms
AFTER A VERB
SV-self / -selves
The little boy dressed himself.
It stands exactly where the object goes.
AFTER A PREPOSITION
Vpreposition-self / -selves
She was angry with herself.
Still the same person, so still -self.
BY + -SELF
by-self / -selves
My grandmother lives by herself.
Alone: with nobody else, or with no help.
EMPHASIS
SVO-self / -selves
We painted the kitchen ourselves.
At the end of the sentence: we did it, nobody did it for us.
THE EIGHT REFLEXIVES
- Imyself
- you (one person)yourself
- hehimself
- sheherself
- ititself
- weourselves
- you (a group)yourselves
- theythemselves
one person or thing → -self · two or more → -selves · he → himself, they → themselves
TRY IT
- Question 1
"My little brother can't tie his shoes by ."
- Question 2
"The students made the posters ."
- Question 3
"Did you and your sister cook dinner ?"
When to use them
Doing something to yourself
Don't blame yourself — it was an accident.
It was an accident, so don't feel bad about it.
Signal words: hurt · cut · burn · blame · look at · talk to
With no help
I didn't buy this bag. I made it myself.
I made it with my own hands.
Signal words: made it myself · did it herself · fixed it ourselves
Alone
He travelled around Vietnam by himself.
He travelled alone.
Signal words: by myself · by yourself · alone
Welcoming a guest
Make yourself at home.
What a host says to a visitor: relax and feel at home.
Signal words: Help yourself · Enjoy yourselves
Themselves vs. each other
He helps her and she helps him: they help each other. Don't use -selves for this.
| -SELVES | EACH OTHER | |
|---|---|---|
| Who receives it | each person does it to himself or herself | each person does it to the other |
| Taking photos | Lan and Vy took photos of themselves. — each took her own | Lan and Vy took photos of each other. — Lan took Vy's, Vy took Lan's |
| Form | changes with the subject: ourselves, yourselves, themselves | never changes |
TRY IT
- Question 1
"Minh and Tuấn talk to on the phone every evening."
- Question 2
"Two-year-old children can't go to the park by ."
Common mistakes
Incorrect:He did it hisself.
Correct:He did it himself.
The word is built on him, not his: himself.
Incorrect:They built the house theirselves.
Correct:They built the house themselves.
Use them + selves. Theirselves is not English.
Incorrect:I feel myself nervous before exams.
Correct:I feel nervous before exams.
Feel goes straight to the adjective, with no reflexive pronoun in between.
Incorrect:My parents love themselves very much.
Correct:My parents love each other very much.
Each parent loves the other one, so it is each other. Themselves would mean each one loves himself or herself.
Incorrect:Last summer I went to Đà Lạt by my self.
Correct:Last summer I went to Đà Lạt by myself.
Myself is one word, and so are yourself, himself and ourselves.
Incorrect:The kids enjoyed a lot at the water park.
Correct:The kids enjoyed themselves a lot at the water park.
Enjoy needs an object. To say you had a good time, use enjoy + a reflexive pronoun.
Quick check · 7 questions
Choose the right word:
Look! The cat is cleaning itself.
- A. itself — Correct
- B. it
- C. its
Answer: A. itself
The doer and the receiver are the same cat, so the object has to be itself. It would mean a different thing.
Choose the right word:
Tom fell off his bike and hurt himself.
- A. himself — Correct
- B. hisself
- C. him
Answer: A. himself
The form is himself. Hisself is not English, and him would be somebody other than Tom.
Choose the right word:
My cousins cooked all the food for the party themselves.
- A. themselves — Correct
- B. theirselves
- C. themself
Answer: A. themselves
More than one person takes -selves, and the word is built on them. At the end of the sentence, it shows they cooked with no help.
A teacher is talking to two students. Choose the right word:
You can check your answers yourselves — the key is on page 20.
- A. yourselves — Correct
- B. yourself
- C. yourselfs
Answer: A. yourselves
You is the same word for one person or a group, but the reflexive has two forms: yourself for one, yourselves for a group.
Choose the right phrase:
Hoa doesn't like big groups. She usually goes to the cinema by herself.
- A. by herself — Correct
- B. by her
- C. by hers
Answer: A. by herself
By plus a reflexive pronoun means with nobody else. By her usually means next to her.
Choose the right word:
My brother and his wife send each other funny messages all day.
- A. each other — Correct
- B. themselves
- C. theirselves
Answer: A. each other
He sends messages to her and she sends them to him, so it is each other. Themselves would mean each of them sends messages to their own phone.
Choose the correct words:
I don't feel very well today.
- A. feel — Correct
- B. feel myself
- C. feel me
Answer: A. feel
Feel goes straight to a word like well, tired or happy. It does not need myself.
See whether it really stuck.
Start the quiz · 12 questions
