ESL Grammar: Pronouns - Reflexive Pronouns, Myself, Yourself, Himself, etc.

What It Is

Reflexive pronouns are words that refer back to the subject of a sentence. They are used to show that the action of the verb is done by the subject itself. For example: "I hurt myself" (not "I hurt me"). This topic causes difficulty for ESL learners because they often confuse reflexive pronouns with regular pronouns.

Key Rules

• Reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
• Use myself when the subject is I: "I cut myself."
• Use yourself when the subject is you: "You should take care of yourself."
• Use himself, herself, itself when the subject is a singular male, female, or non-living thing: "He fixed himself a sandwich."
• Use ourselves, yourselves, themselves when the subject is a plural noun: "We are going to ourselves."
• Reflexive pronouns come after the verb: "I cut myself" (not "I myself cut").
• Use each other when two people do something to each other: "They helped each other."
• Use one another when more than two people do something to each other: "They all helped one another."
• Itself is used with non-living things: "The car damaged itself."
• Ourselves, yourselves, themselves are used with plural subjects: "We are going to ourselves."
• Himself, herself, itself are used with singular subjects: "He fixed himself a sandwich."
• Myself, yourself, itself are used with singular subjects: "I cut myself."
• Reflexive pronouns are not used with me, you, him, her, it: "I cut myself" (not "I cut me").
• Reflexive pronouns are not used with us, you, them: "We are going to ourselves" (not "We are going to us").
• Reflexive pronouns are not used with he, she, it: "He fixed himself a sandwich" (not "He fixed he a sandwich").
• Reflexive pronouns are not used with they: "They helped each other" (not "They helped they").
• Reflexive pronouns are not used with we: "We are going to ourselves" (not "We are going to we").
• Reflexive pronouns are not used with I: "I cut myself" (not "I cut I").
• Reflexive pronouns are not used with you: "You should take care of yourself" (not "You should take care of you").
• Reflexive pronouns are not used with me, you, him, her, it as objects: "I cut myself" (not "I cut me").
• Reflexive pronouns are not used with us, you, them as objects: "We are going to ourselves" (not "We are going to us").

Common ESL Errors

Error: "I hurt me." Why it happens: Interference from the learner's first language, where reflexive pronouns are not used. Correction: "I hurt myself." Reflexive pronouns are used to show that the action of the verb is done by the subject itself.

Error: "We are going to us." Why it happens: Overgeneralization of reflexive pronouns. Correction: "We are going to ourselves." Reflexive pronouns are used with plural subjects.

Error: "He fixed he a sandwich." Why it happens: Interference from the learner's first language, where reflexive pronouns are not used. Correction: "He fixed himself a sandwich." Reflexive pronouns are used with singular subjects.

Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank: "I cut _." Answer: myself. Reason: Reflexive pronouns are used to show that the action of the verb is done by the subject itself.

2. Fill in the blank: "You should take care of _." Answer: yourself. Reason: Reflexive pronouns are used to show that the action of the verb is done by the subject itself.

3. Fill in the blank: "They helped _." Answer: each other. Reason: Reflexive pronouns are used to show that two people do something to each other.

Last-Minute Revision

Myself and I are not interchangeable: "I cut myself" (not "I cut I").
Yourself and you are not interchangeable: "You should take care of yourself" (not "You should take care of you").
Himself, herself, and itself are used with singular subjects: "He fixed himself a sandwich."
Ourselves, yourselves, and themselves are used with plural subjects: "We are going to ourselves."
Each other and one another are used to show that two people do something to each other: "They helped each other."
Reflexive pronouns are not used with me, you, him, her, it: "I cut myself" (not "I cut me").
Reflexive pronouns are not used with us, you, them: "We are going to ourselves" (not "We are going to us").
Reflexive pronouns are not used with he, she, it: "He fixed himself a sandwich" (not "He fixed he a sandwich").
Reflexive pronouns are not used with they: "They helped each other" (not "They helped they").
Reflexive pronouns are not used with we: "We are going to ourselves" (not "We are going to we").
Reflexive pronouns are not used with I: "I cut myself" (not "I cut I").
Reflexive pronouns are not used with you: "You should take care of yourself" (not "You should take care of you").