Reflexive Pronouns

The reflexive pronouns are:

Singular:	myself - yourself - himself - herself - itself
Plural:	ourselves - yourselves - themselves

When we use a reflexive pronoun

We use a reflexive pronoun:

• as a direct object when the object is the same as the subject of the verb:

I am teaching myself to play the piano.
Be careful with that knife. You might cut yourself.

We can use a reflexive pronoun as direct object with most transitive verbs, but these are the most common:

amuse	blame	cut	dry	enjoy	help
hurt	introduce	kill	prepare	satisfy	teach

Some verbs change their meaning slightly when they have a reflexive pronoun as direct object:

·         Would you like to help yourself to another drink?
= Would you like to take another drink.

·         I wish the children would behave themselves.
 = I wish the children would behave well.

·         He found himself lying by the side of the road.
= He was surprised when he realised that he was at the side of the road.

·         I saw myself as a famous actor.
= I imagined that I was a famous actor.

·         She applied herself to the job of mending the lights.
= She worked very hard to mend the lights.

·         He busied himself in the kitchen.
 = He worked busily in the kitchen.

·         I had to content myself with a few Euros.
= I had to be satisfied with a few Euros.

We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for themselves, such as wash, shave, dress:

He washed [himself] in cold water.
He always shaved [himself] before going out in the evening.
Michael dressed [himself] and got ready for the party.

We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:

He dressed himself in spite of his injuries.
She’s old enough to wash herself.

• as indirect object when the indirect object is the same as the subject of the verb:

Would you like to pour yourself a drink.
We’ve brought ourselves something to eat.

• as the object of a preposition when the object refers to the subject of the clause:

They had to cook for themselves.
He was feeling very sorry for himself.

Warning
But we use personal pronouns, not reflexives, after prepositions of place... He had a suitcase beside him. and after with when it means "accompanied by": She had a few friends with her.

We use a reflexive pronoun...

• with the preposition by when we want to show that someone did something alone and/or without any help:

He lived by himself in an enormous house.
She walked home by herself.

The children got dressed by themselves.
I prepared the whole meal by myself.

• to emphasise the person or thing we are referring to:

Kendal itself is quite a small town.

especially if we are talking about someone very famous:

Sir Paul McCartney himself sang the final song.

We often put the reflexive pronoun at the end of the clause when we are using it for emphasis:

I baked the bread myself.
She mended the car herself