Reflexive Pronouns: Definition, Examples, Types, and Usage Guide

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive Pronoun Definition: A reflexive pronoun is used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same person or thing, causing the action of the verb to "reflect" back onto the subject. To understand this, remember that the subject is the doer of the action, while the object is the receiver. For example, 

She chooses this for herself. 

I will cook by myself.  

You have likely encountered words like herself, myself, themselves, itself, and yourself. These are all reflexive pronouns. In this article, we will explore these pronouns in detail, examining their grammatical roles and correct usage in everyday English.

Reflexive Pronoun Definition

In English Grammar, a reflexive pronoun is a specific type of pronoun used when the subject acts upon itself. These words almost always end in -self or -selves. Essentially, they signify that the performer and the receiver of the verb's action are identical.

There are nine standard reflexive pronouns in the English language: myself, yourself, yourselves, ourselves, himself, herself, themselves, itself, and oneself. 

Let’s break down how these pronouns function with clear examples.

1. I love me. 
2. Do you know how to take care of yourself? 
3. Kamal knows how to take care of kamal.
4. Look at these sentences, the subject is referring to itself as an object on which the action is performed. So, we use a reflexive pronoun instead of the object to make these sentences more meaningful.
5. I love myself.
6. Do you know how to take care of yourself?
7. Kamal knows how to take care of himself.

Reflexive pronouns allow us to avoid repetition by replacing the object with a form that points back to the subject. They are considered derivatives of personal pronouns.

Types of Reflexive Pronouns

The nine reflexive pronouns are classified into two categories: Singular Reflexive Pronouns and Plural Reflexive Pronouns.

1. Singular Reflexive Pronouns: These refer to a single person, animal, or thing acting as the object. They typically end with the suffix -self.  

Examples include: Myself, Himself, Herself, Yourself, Itself, and Oneself.

2. Plural Reflexive Pronouns: These are used when the subject refers to more than one person, animal, or thing. They end with the suffix -selves.  

Examples include: Yourselves, Ourselves, and Themselves.

Examples of Reflexive Pronouns
Types of Reflexive Pronouns	Reflexive Pronoun	Used With (Personal Pronoun)
Singular Reflexive Pronoun	Myself	I
	Himself	Him or Singular Male
	Herself	Her or Singular Female
	Yourself	Singular form of You
	Itself	It
	Oneself	One
Plural Reflexive Pronoun	Yourselves	Plural form of You
	Ourselves	We
	Themselves	They

Use of Reflexive Pronouns

1. As noted, reflexive pronouns function as objects following a verb, referring back to the nouns or pronouns acting as the subject. 

Consider these examples:

1. I bought myself a private jet.
2. He knows himself better.
3. She cooked herself in spite she was sick.

Notice how the reflexive pronouns myself, himself, and herself follow the verbs bought, knows, and cooked, indicating the subject is also the recipient of the action.

2. Reflexive pronouns can demonstrate independent action when combined with the word “by,” meaning “alone” or “without assistance.” For example:

I prepared this project by myself.

He walked to the park by himself.

3. Reflexive pronouns are also used as objects of a preposition. For example: Raman and Aman had to cook for themselves.
He was feeling very sad for himself.

4. To add emphasis to a noun or pronoun, you can use reflexive pronouns, which are then called intensive pronouns. In this context, the sentence remains grammatically correct if the pronoun is removed. For example:

Jack wrote all the poems by himself. (The core sentence "Jack wrote all the poems" still functions). Kamla herself reached out to me. Here, herself acts as an intensive pronoun, emphasizing that Kamla performed the action personally.

Reflexive pronoun for Gender Neutral

In modern grammar, we often use gender-neutral pronouns when the subject's gender is unknown or irrelevant. While herself and himself are gender-specific, themselves serves as an excellent gender-neutral alternative for singular or plural subjects. For example: 

All students are directed to do their work by themselves.

The children crossed the road by themselves.

Example of Reflexive Pronoun used in sentence

1. I ate my dinner by myself.
2. Sam painted a picture of himself and his friends.
3. They introduced themselves to guests.
4. She went home by herself.
5. I went to the movie by myself.
6. Ravi bought a car by himself.
7. The teacher told me to do my homework by myself.
8. Jenny was in a hurry, so she washed her car by herself.
9. You should brush your teeth daily by yourself.
10. They are preparing themselves for the exam.
11. Rohan and Sohan were celebrating their victory by themselves.
12. We will have to decorate our house by ourselves.
13. Computers can solve problems by themselves.
14. Car can be driven by itself.
15. To work one must have time to oneself.
16. One can't enjoy oneself if one is too tired.

Also Read

Parts of Speech
Pronoun	Personal Pronoun
Possessive Pronoun	Relative Pronoun
Noun	Adjective
Adverb	Preposition
Verb	Conjunction