Choose between personal and reflexive pronouns
Key Notes:
🗼 Reflexive pronouns are pronouns that end in -self or -selves.
| Subject (singular) | Reflexive pronoun |
| I | myself |
| you | yourself |
| she | herself |
| he | himself |
| it | itself |
| Subject (plural) | Reflexive pronoun |
| we | ourselves |
| you | yourselves |
| they | themselves |
🗼 Reflexive pronouns are used to refer back to the subject of a sentence. They should match the subject.
- We helped ourselves to some more soup.
- The subject of the sentence is we, so use ourselves.
- Amy drives herself to work every morning.
- The subject of the sentence, Amy, can be called she, so use herself.
🗼 A reflexive pronoun can only be used to refer to the subject. To refer to someone else or something else, a personal pronoun, like me, you, him, her, it, us, or them, should be used instead.
- Jake wrote a note for himself.
- The reflexive pronoun, himself, refers back to the subject, Jake.
- Jake wrote a note for him.
- The personal pronoun, him, must refer to someone other than the subject, Jake.
Learn with an example
1)Select the best pronoun to complete the sentence.
She may help to more figs from the silver bowl.
- herself
- here
- The missing pronoun refers to the subject of the sentence, so it should be a reflexive pronoun.
- The subject is she, so use the matching reflexive pronoun, herself.
2)Select the best pronoun to complete the sentence.
After standing all day, the engineer gave_____ a foot rub.
- herself
- itself
- The missing pronoun refers to the subject of the sentence, so it should be a reflexive pronoun.
- The subject, engineer, can be called she. Use the matching reflexive
- pronoun, herself.
3)Select the best pronoun to complete the sentence.
With these instructions, you can teach_____ how to make a hammock.
- yourself
- you
- The missing pronoun refers to the subject of the sentence, so it should be a reflexive pronoun.
- The subject is you, so use the matching reflexive pronoun, yourself.
Let’s practice!🖋️
