English Grammar 16: REFLEXIVE AND EMPHATIC PRONOUNS

Chapter 16: Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns

Welcome to Chapter 16! Pronouns are like stunt doubles for nouns; they step in so we do not have to repeat a name over and over. In this chapter, we are going to look at a special group of pronouns that end in -self or -selves. We will learn how they work, how to tell them apart, and how to use them correctly in everyday English.

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Introduction: Compound Personal Pronouns

When we take standard personal pronouns (like my, your, him, her, it, our, them) and add -self or -selves to the end, we create what grammarians call Compound Personal Pronouns.

Here is a simple chart showing how they are formed based on singular (one person) and plural (more than one person) forms:

Person	Singular (Ends in -self)	Plural (Ends in -selves)
First Person (I / We)	myself	ourselves
Second Person (You)	yourself	yourselves
Third Person (He / She / It / They)	himself, herself, itself	themselves

These Compound Personal Pronouns have two very different jobs in English sentences. Depending on their job, we call them either Reflexive Pronouns or Emphatic Pronouns. Let us explore both.

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Part 1: Reflexive Pronouns

1. Clear and Detailed Explanation

Think of the word "reflexive" like a "reflection" in a mirror. A Compound Personal Pronoun is called a Reflexive Pronoun when the action done by the subject turns back (reflects) upon the subject.

In a normal sentence, the doer of the action (Subject) and the receiver of the action (Object) are two different people. For example: "John hurt Peter." But what if John accidentally hurts John? We do not say "John hurt John." Instead, we say: "John hurt himself." Here, the subject and the object are the exact same person.

2. Original and Real-Life Examples

Notice how in all these original examples, the pronoun acts as the Object of the verb, receiving the action done by the Subject:

• I hurt myself.
• We hurt ourselves.
• You will hurt yourself.
• You hurt yourselves.
• He hurt himself.
• She hurt herself.
• They hurt themselves.
• The horse hurt itself.

Here are a few more real-life examples:

• I accidentally cut myself while chopping vegetables.
• The students taught themselves how to code.
• The automatic door closed by itself.

3. Important Rules and Exceptions

Rule 1: Older English Usage: Sometimes, in older English (especially in poetry), a simple personal pronoun was used reflexively instead of a compound one. You might see this in classic literature.
Original Example: Now I lay me down to sleep.

Rule 2: "Self" as a Noun: The word "self" is not always a pronoun. Sometimes it is used as a standard Noun to mean a person's personality, ego, or own interest.
Original Examples: To thine own self be true. / He cares for nothing but self. / He thinks much for self.

4. Common Mistakes and Tips to Avoid Them

Mistake: Using "hisself" or "theirselves." These words do not exist in standard English!
Tip: Always remember the chart. It is himself (not hisself) and themselves (not theirselves).

5. Quick Summary

If the pronoun receives the action of the verb and refers back to the subject, it is a Reflexive Pronoun. Without it, the sentence would not make logical sense (e.g., "I hurt..." - hurt who?).

6. Additional Practice Exercises (Reflexive)

Fill in the blanks with the correct Reflexive Pronoun:

1. The cat cleaned _______ after eating.
2. We blamed _______ for the mistake.
3. Did you fix the bicycle _______, Tom?

Solutions:

1. itself (The cat is an animal, usually referred to as 'it').
2. ourselves (Reflects back to 'We').
3. yourself (Reflects back to the singular 'you', Tom).

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Part 2: Emphatic Pronouns

1. Clear and Detailed Explanation

Sometimes, we use Compound Personal Pronouns just to put a spotlight on the subject. We want to say, "The subject did this, and nobody else!" When used just for the sake of emphasis, they are called Emphatic Pronouns.

The biggest clue that you are dealing with an Emphatic Pronoun is that you can remove it from the sentence entirely, and the sentence will still make perfect sense. It is not the object of the verb; it is just a booster.

2. Original and Real-Life Examples

Look at these original examples. Try reading them while skipping the emphatic pronoun. The sentence still works perfectly!

• I will do it myself.
• I myself saw him do it.
• We will see to it ourselves.
• You yourself can best explain.
• He himself said so.
• She herself says so.
• It was told so by the teacher himself.
• We saw the Prime Minister himself.
• The town itself is not very large.
• They themselves admitted their guilt.

Here are a few more real-life examples:

• The principal herself handed me the trophy. (Emphasis on the principal).
• I baked this cake myself! (Emphasis that I did not buy it from a store).

3. Common Mistakes and Tips to Avoid Them

Mistake: Confusing Reflexive and Emphatic pronouns because they look exactly the same.
Tip: Use the "Drop Test." Erase the pronoun from the sentence. If the sentence is broken or changes its core meaning (e.g., "He hurt ___"), it is Reflexive. If the sentence is still a complete thought (e.g., "He ___ baked the cake"), it is Emphatic.

4. Quick Summary

Emphatic pronouns are used solely to emphasize a noun or pronoun. They are completely optional to the grammar of the sentence, acting as highlighters rather than necessary puzzle pieces.

5. Additional Practice Exercises (Emphatic)

Identify the noun that the Emphatic Pronoun is emphasizing:

1. The queen herself attended the ceremony.
2. The house itself is beautiful, but the garden is a mess.
3. I spoke to the manager himself.

Solutions:

1. herself emphasizes "The queen".
2. itself emphasizes "The house".
3. himself emphasizes "the manager".

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Part 3: Solutions to Exercise 28

Let us apply everything we have learned to the original Exercise 28. Our task is to tell which pronouns are Reflexive and which are Emphatic.

No.	Sentence	Pronoun Type	Explanation
1	I will go myself.	Emphatic	You can drop 'myself' ("I will go"). It emphasizes 'I'.
2	Rama has hurt himself.	Reflexive	'Himself' is the object receiving the action of 'hurt'.
3	We often deceive ourselves.	Reflexive	'Ourselves' is the object of the verb 'deceive'.
4	I myself heard the remark.	Emphatic	Emphasizes 'I'. ("I heard the remark" makes sense).
5	You express yourself very imperfectly.	Reflexive	'Yourself' is the object of the verb 'express'.
6	I wash myself when I get up.	Reflexive	'Myself' is the object of the verb 'wash'.
7	The boys hid themselves.	Reflexive	'Themselves' is the object of the verb 'hid'.
8	They have got themselves into a mess.	Reflexive	'Themselves' receives the action of getting into a mess.
9	Boadicea poisoned herself.	Reflexive	'Herself' is the object of the verb 'poisoned'.
10	They loved themselves so much that they thought of no one else.	Reflexive	'Themselves' is the object of the verb 'loved'.
11	The prisoner hanged himself.	Reflexive	'Himself' is the object of the verb 'hanged'.
12	The poor widow poisoned herself.	Reflexive	'Herself' is the object of the verb 'poisoned'.
13	They enjoyed themselves.	Reflexive	'Themselves' is the object of the verb 'enjoyed'.
14	Don't you deceive yourself?	Reflexive	'Yourself' is the object of the verb 'deceive'.
15	I myself heard the remark.	Emphatic	(Repeat of #4). Emphasizes 'I'.
16	He set himself a hard task.	Reflexive	'Himself' is the indirect object of the verb 'set'.
17	We exerted ourselves.	Reflexive	'Ourselves' is the object of the verb 'exerted'.
18	The dog choked itself.	Reflexive	'Itself' is the object of the verb 'choked'.
19	They gave themselves a lot of trouble.	Reflexive	'Themselves' is the indirect object of the verb 'gave'.
20	We seldom see ourselves as others see us.	Reflexive	'Ourselves' is the object of the verb 'see'.
21	A house divided against itself cannot stand.	Reflexive	Object of the preposition 'against'.
22	He that wrongs his friend wrongs himself more.	Reflexive	'Himself' is the object of the verb 'wrongs'.
23	Some people are always talking about themselves.	Reflexive	Object of the preposition 'about'.
24	Xerxes himself was the last to cross the Hellespont.	Emphatic	Emphasizes the noun 'Xerxes'.
25	He has landed himself in difficulties.	Reflexive	'Himself' is the object of the verb 'landed'.
26	Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.	Reflexive	Reflects back to the subject 'Thou' (Old English for you).
27	Quit yourselves like men.	Reflexive	'Yourselves' is the object of the verb 'Quit' (meaning behave).
28	Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased.	Reflexive	'Himself' is the object of the verb 'exalt'.
29	Sinai itself trembled at the presence of God.	Emphatic	Emphasizes the mountain 'Sinai'.
30	I cannot bring myself to do it.	Reflexive	'Myself' is the object of the verb 'bring'.
31	Pray do not inconvenience yourself.	Reflexive	'Yourself' is the object of the verb 'inconvenience'.
32	I was sitting by myself.	Reflexive	Object of the preposition 'by'.
33	And sometimes I do hate myself.	Reflexive	'Myself' is the object of the verb 'hate'.

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Part 4: Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs)

Test your knowledge with these 20 MCQs! Try to answer them first before looking at the solutions below.

1. What suffix is added to plural pronouns to make them compound personal pronouns?
A) -self
B) -selves
C) -ness
D) -ly

2. In the sentence "She baked the cake herself," the word 'herself' is used as a:
A) Relative Pronoun
B) Reflexive Pronoun
C) Emphatic Pronoun
D) Possessive Pronoun

3. Which of the following sentences contains a Reflexive Pronoun?
A) I myself saw the thief.
B) The king himself gave the order.
C) He cut himself while shaving.
D) The machine itself is quite old.

4. If you remove an Emphatic Pronoun from a sentence, what happens?
A) The sentence becomes grammatically incorrect.
B) The sentence loses its meaning.
C) The sentence remains complete and makes sense.
D) The verb tense changes.

5. "They bought _______ a new house." Fill in the correct pronoun.
A) themself
B) theirselves
C) themselves
D) themselfs

6. "I will do the homework _______." Fill in the correct pronoun.
A) myself
B) me
C) mine
D) ourselves

7. In the sentence "To thine own self be true," the word 'self' acts as a:
A) Verb
B) Adjective
C) Pronoun
D) Noun

8. Which of the following is NOT a correct English word?
A) Himself
B) Herself
C) Hisself
D) Itself

9. Identify the Emphatic Pronoun in this sentence: "The building itself collapsed."
A) The
B) building
C) itself
D) collapsed

10. "Now I lay me down to sleep." In this older English sentence, 'me' is used instead of:
A) I
B) myself
C) mine
D) my

11. What is the correct plural form of 'yourself'?
A) yourselves
B) yourselfs
C) yours
D) yourselfes

12. "We often deceive ourselves." What is the subject of this sentence?
A) often
B) deceive
C) ourselves
D) We

13. In the sentence "We often deceive ourselves," the pronoun 'ourselves' is acting as the:
A) Subject
B) Object
C) Adjective
D) Conjunction

14. "The cat licked _______ clean."
A) himself
B) herself
C) itself
D) themselves

15. Which sentence uses an Emphatic Pronoun correctly?
A) Myself went to the store.
B) I gave myself a treat.
C) The teacher himself graded the papers.
D) Please pass the salt to myself.

16. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Here, 'itself' is a:
A) Reflexive pronoun acting as the object of a preposition.
B) Emphatic pronoun emphasizing the house.
C) Reflexive pronoun acting as the subject.
D) Noun.

17. Which word fills the blank for a plural group of listeners? "Did you all enjoy _______ at the party?"
A) yourself
B) yourselves
C) themselves
D) ourselves

18. "Some people are always talking about themselves." This pronoun is:
A) Emphatic
B) Reflexive
C) Possessive
D) Demonstrative

19. True or False: Emphatic pronouns are strictly required for a sentence to be grammatically correct.
A) True
B) False
C) Only in old English
D) Only when speaking to royalty

20. "He has landed himself in difficulties." What is 'himself' reflecting back to?
A) landed
B) difficulties
C) in
D) He

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MCQ Solutions and Explanations

• 1. B - Plural compound personal pronouns always end in -selves (e.g., ourselves, themselves).
• 2. C - You can remove 'herself' and the sentence still makes sense ("She baked the cake"). It is just adding emphasis.
• 3. C - "He cut himself" means the subject and the object are the same. If you remove 'himself', the sentence is incomplete.
• 4. C - Emphatic pronouns only add emphasis; they are not the grammatical object of the verb.
• 5. C - 'Themselves' is the correct standard English form.
• 6. A - The subject is 'I', so the pronoun must reflect 'I', which is 'myself'.
• 7. D - Here, 'self' is used as a noun meaning one's own personality or interests.
• 8. C - 'Hisself' is grammatically incorrect. The proper word is 'himself'.
• 9. C - 'Itself' emphasizes the noun 'building'.
• 10. B - In older English, simple pronouns were sometimes used reflexively instead of compound ones like 'myself'.
• 11. A - The suffix changes from -self (singular) to -selves (plural).
• 12. D - 'We' is the doer of the action.
• 13. B - 'Ourselves' is receiving the action of the verb 'deceive'.
• 14. C - Animals are generally referred to using 'it', making the pronoun 'itself'.
• 15. C - 'Himself' emphasizes 'The teacher'. The other sentences either use reflexive pronouns (B) or use 'myself' incorrectly as a subject/object (A, D).
• 16. A - It reflects back to the house and is placed after the preposition 'against'.
• 17. B - Because the speaker says "you all", they are addressing multiple people, so the plural 'yourselves' is required.
• 18. B - It is the object of the preposition 'about' and reflects back to the subject 'people'.
• 19. B (False) - Emphatic pronouns can be removed without breaking the sentence's grammar.
• 20. D - Reflexive pronouns always reflect back to the subject of the sentence, which is 'He' in this case.