Level: beginner
The reflexive pronouns are:
| singular: | myself | yourself | himself | herself | itself |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plural: | ourselves | yourselves | themselves |
We use a reflexive pronoun as a direct object when the object is the same as the subject of the verb:
I fell over and hurt myself.
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 |
- Reflexive pronouns 1
| Be careful! |
|---|
|
We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for themselves:
We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:
|
Level: intermediate
We use reflexive pronouns as an 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.
We use reflexive pronouns as the object of a preposition when the object is the same as the subject of the verb:
They had to cook for themselves.
He was feeling very sorry for himself.
but we use object pronouns, not reflexives, after prepositions of place:
He had a suitcase beside him. (NOT
himself)
and after with when it means accompanied by:
She had a few friends with her. (NOT
herself)
We use reflexives with the preposition by:
- to show that someone did something without any help:
The children got dressed by themselves.
I prepared the whole meal by myself.
- to show that someone was alone:
He lived by himself in an enormous house.
She walked home by herself.
We use reflexive pronouns intensively 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 intensively for emphasis:
I baked the bread myself.
She mended the car herself.
- Reflexive pronouns 2
- Reflexive pronouns 3
Level: advanced
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 lying by 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.
- Reflexive pronouns 4
- Reflexive pronouns 5
Hello Larrie
I would say 'themselves' here, but I suspect you could find others who prefer 'themself'. Actually, most native speakers would probably try to avoid this form by saying something like 'Someone could get hurt' instead.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi medmomo,
'cut' is an irregular verb. The base form, past simple form and past participle forms are all the same: 'cut'. In the example sentence you ask about, 'cut' is in the past simple. The present simple wouldn't make sense here, as you rightly point out.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello dipakrgandhi
The words my, your, his, her, our and their are examples of possessive adjectives. They are used before nouns:
The words mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs are examples of possessive pronouns. They are used instead of nouns:
You can read more about possessive forms here.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Ricardo,
Both forms are possible, but there is a difference in meaning.
We use by myself when we want to emphasise that we did not need any help. It is often a positive claim, showing how independent or capable a person is.
We use alone to say that we did not have company; we were the only person involved. It is often a negative claim, showing that the person is not happy that they did not have any help.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello tekdung,
Unless I've misunderstood what is meant, I'm afraid neither one is correct. I'd recommend 'sorry for themselves' in 1 and 'quickly washed and got dressed' in 2.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team