Micro-listening
Reflexive pronouns: choose the right form
The short answer
A reflexive pronoun shows that the person performing the action is also the person receiving the action. In other sentences, a reflexive pronoun follows a noun or pronoun to add emphasis, showing that the person acted without help.
Key points
- Check who performs the action and whether they also receive it.
- Match singular subjects to -self and plural subjects to -selves.
- Remember that yourselves addresses a group, while yourself addresses one person.
This lesson has 5 stages. You can stop at any time and continue later.
Stage 1 of 5
Understand
What it means, when to use it, and mistakes to avoid.
Examples
The volunteers organized themselves into small teams before the event began.
Why it works: The plural subject volunteers matches themselves because the volunteers performed the grouping and were grouped by it.
2 more examples
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We repaired the office printer ourselves to save time.
Ourselves emphasizes that we did the repair work directly without calling a technician.
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Did you introduce yourself to the new project manager this morning?
Yourself refers back to you when speaking to a single colleague.
Read the full guide
Identify when the subject and object are identical
A reflexive pronoun is necessary when the person who performs an action is also the person who receives it. If the subject and object refer to different people, use a standard object pronoun like me, him, or them. When both roles belong to the same person, select a reflexive pronoun to show that circular connection.
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Daniel bought himself a warm jacket for the winter.
Why it works: Daniel is both the buyer and the person who received the jacket, so himself connects both roles.
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Daniel bought him a warm jacket for the winter.
Why it works: Him refers to another person, showing that Daniel purchased the coat for someone else.
Your turn
Choose the correct sentence to show that Elena paid for her own ticket.
Answer: Elena bought herself a cinema pass.
Show the answer
Answer: Elena bought herself a cinema pass.
Herself shows that Elena is both the buyer and the recipient of the ticket.
Use singular forms ending in self
Singular reflexive pronouns always end in the four letters s-e-l-f. When you talk about your own actions, use myself. For a single listener, use yourself. When discussing one other person or an object, select himself, herself, or itself. Matching the grammatical number prevents confusion about how many individuals took part in the event.
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I reminded myself to lock the front door.
Why it works: Myself refers back to the singular speaker I.
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The kitten dried itself in the warm sunlight.
Why it works: Itself matches the single animal receiving the action.
You can practise this again in Possessive Pronouns: Choose the Right Form and Comparatives and superlatives: choose the right form.
Your turn
Which word correctly completes: 'Marcus taught ___ to write computer code'?
Answer: himself
Show the answer
Answer: himself
Himself is the standard singular masculine reflexive pronoun in English.
Form plural pronouns with the ending selves
When the subject includes two or more people, the ending changes from s-e-l-f to s-e-l-v-e-s. We pairs with ourselves, you addressing several people pairs with yourselves, and they pairs with themselves. English learners sometimes spell these words with an f, but standard plural spelling requires v-e-s for all collective reflexive forms.
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We prepared ourselves for a busy afternoon at the clinic.
Why it works: Ourselves matches the plural subject we.
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The runners paced themselves during the first half of the race.
Why it works: Themselves reflects back to the plural runners.
Your turn
Complete the sentence: 'The team members challenged ___ to beat the sales target.'
Answer: themselves
Show the answer
Answer: themselves
The plural subject 'team members' requires the standard plural form themselves.
Choose between yourself and yourselves
Because the word you functions as both a singular and a plural pronoun in English, the reflexive ending shows your intended audience. If you speak to one friend, say, "Help yourself." If you speak to a room full of visitors, say, "Help yourselves." Always consider the audience size before choosing between the singular and plural endings.
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Carlos, please make yourself comfortable in the waiting room.
Why it works: Yourself addresses Carlos as one individual.
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Welcome, everyone; please make yourselves comfortable in the hall.
Why it works: Yourselves addresses the entire group of guests.
Your turn
A manager speaks to five new employees: 'Please introduce ___ to the team.'
Answer: yourselves
Show the answer
Answer: yourselves
The manager addresses several people, so the plural form yourselves is required.
Express actions that return to the subject
Certain verbs frequently appear with reflexive pronouns to describe personal care, accidents, or mental states. You might cut yourself while preparing vegetables or introduce yourself to a new neighbor. However, everyday actions like washing, shaving, or dressing usually omit the pronoun in English unless you want to emphasize that someone managed the task without assistance.
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Be careful with that sharp knife so you do not hurt yourself.
Why it works: Hurt yourself describes an accidental action affecting the speaker's listener.
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The little boy dressed himself for kindergarten this morning.
Why it works: Using himself here emphasizes that the child accomplished the dressing without parental help.
Your turn
Which sentence naturally describes an accidental injury while cooking?
Answer: I burned myself on the hot oven door.
Show the answer
Answer: I burned myself on the hot oven door.
Myself is the reflexive pronoun that shows the speaker caused and received the injury.
Add emphasis to show personal involvement
Reflexive pronouns also serve an emphatic role, which means they highlight that the subject acted personally without delegating the work. In this role, the sentence remains grammatically complete even if you remove the pronoun. Placing the pronoun directly after the subject or at the end of the clause emphasizes personal effort or surprise.
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The restaurant owner baked the bread herself.
Why it works: Herself emphasizes that the owner did the baking personally rather than hiring a baker.
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We built the wooden garden table ourselves over the weekend.
Why it works: Ourselves highlights that our own group did the construction without professional help.
Your turn
In 'The CEO himself replied to my email,' what is the purpose of 'himself'?
Answer: It adds emphasis to show the CEO acted personally.
Show the answer
Answer: It adds emphasis to show the CEO acted personally.
Here, himself is emphatic; removing it leaves a complete sentence showing the CEO performed the action directly.
Avoid using reflexive pronouns as subjects
A frequent error occurs when writers use myself or yourself in compound subjects to sound polite or formal. Sentences like 'Myself and David managed the registration' are grammatically incorrect in standard English. Test your sentence by removing the other person. You would say 'I managed the registration,' so write 'David and I managed the registration.'
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Rachel and I reviewed the budget before the meeting.
Why it works: I is part of the compound subject; myself cannot stand here as the subject.
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If you have questions, please contact Sarah or me.
Why it works: Me is the standard object pronoun following the verb contact.
Your turn
Choose the grammatically correct sentence for standard business English.
Answer: Priya and I organized the workshop schedule.
Show the answer
Answer: Priya and I organized the workshop schedule.
Standard English requires the subject pronoun I rather than the reflexive pronoun myself.
Choose pronouns after prepositions with care
When a preposition refers back to the subject, choose a reflexive pronoun. For instance, you might buy a gift for yourself or keep a secret to yourself. However, when prepositions indicate physical location or space around a person, English typically uses simple object pronouns instead, as in 'She placed the bag beside her.'
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He looked at himself in the shiny storefront window.
Why it works: Himself is used after at because the looking returns to the male subject.
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She kept a notebook beside her on the desk.
Why it works: Her is a standard object pronoun used for physical space rather than a reflexive action.
Your turn
Which sentence correctly uses a reflexive pronoun after a preposition?
Answer: They bought lunch for themselves after the match.
Show the answer
Answer: They bought lunch for themselves after the match.
Themselves correctly refers back to the plural subject they following the preposition for.
Questions about "Reflexive pronouns: choose the right form"
What is the difference between each other and themselves?
Use each other when two or more people perform an action mutually in both directions. For example, if Lucas and Maya talk to each other, Lucas speaks to Maya and Maya speaks to Lucas. Use themselves when each person performs the action on their own person. If Lucas and Maya talk to themselves, Lucas speaks aloud alone and Maya speaks aloud alone.
Lucas and Maya helped each other carry the heavy groceries.
Lucas and Maya blamed themselves when the project missed the deadline.
Can themselves refer to a single individual?
Yes. When you use singular they to speak about someone whose gender is unknown, or someone who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, themselves is widely accepted in modern English. Some speakers also use themself, but themselves remains the most common form in published writing.
If a caller phones, ask them to identify themselves before transferring the call.
Every student should prepare themselves for the oral exam.
Why is hisself considered incorrect in standard English?
Although myself and yourself use possessive determiners (my, your), himself and themselves formed historically around object pronouns (him, them). Forms like hisself and theirselves appear in some regional dialects, but standard academic and professional English strictly treats them as grammatical errors.
Marcus repaired the bicycle himself after school.
The students organized the study room themselves.
What does the phrase by myself or by yourself mean?
When you place the preposition by before a reflexive pronoun, it means alone or without help from anyone else. Saying 'I walked home by myself' means you walked without companions. Saying 'She solved the puzzle by herself' means nobody assisted her.
Oliver prefers to study by himself in the quiet library.
Did you assemble that entire bookcase by yourself?
Before you go
Remember this
Check who performs the action and whether they also receive it. Match singular subjects to -self and plural subjects to -selves. Remember that yourselves addresses a group, while yourself addresses one person. Use these pronouns as objects or for emphasis, but keep standard subject pronouns like I and we at the start of your sentences.
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Describe a project or chore that you completed by yourself recently. Explain what the task was, how you prepared yourself for it, and how you felt after finishing.
You could start with “Last week, I decided to handle the whole task by myself…”
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