Grammar: Word classes: Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns (myself)

What are reflexive pronouns?

Here is a list of reflexive pronouns:

They are called 'reflexive pronouns' because they show that the object of the verb is the same as the subject of the verb. Reflexive pronouns can be used as direct object, indirect object and as object of a preposition:

Reflexive pronoun used as direct object

Reflexive pronouns can also be used to indicate that the indirect object of the verb is the same person or thing as the subject of the verb:

Reflexive pronoun used as indirect object

Reflexive pronouns can also be used as the object of a preposition. However, this is only possible if the subject and the object both refer to the same person, and if the clause does not have a direct object:

Reflexive pronoun used as object of a preposition

Note the following points:

	reflexive pronouns can be used together with a noun or subject pronoun to emphasise who is being referred to (The people themselves, I myself)
	in such cases, the pronoun can follow the noun or subject pronoun immediately (I myself am not hungry.), or it can be placed at the end of the clause (I am not hungry, myself.)
	a special use of reflexive pronouns is to indicate that someone did something without any help from others (We made these ourselves) and sometimes the word by is added for additional emphasis (We made these by ourselves)
	reflexive pronouns can be used as the object of most transitive verbs
	some verbs can only be used with a reflexive pronoun (content, busy, pride)
	some verbs are typically used with a reflexive pronoun when referring to a person (enjoy, express)
	some verbs are only used with a reflexive pronoun for added emphasis (behave, dress, hide, move, shave, undress, wash)