Reflexive Pronouns
A2 · ElementaryPronounsWhen the person doing the action is also the person it happens to, English marks that with a reflexive pronoun — myself, yourself, himself, and five more.
What you'll learn
- All eight reflexive pronouns and which subject each one matches
- Reflexive meaning: when the action comes back to the same person who did it
- Emphatic use: adding a reflexive pronoun to stress that someone acted alone or without help
- Why adding myself or yourself just to sound polite is a mistake
The core idea
A reflexive pronoun points back to the person who is already the subject of the sentence. When an action a person does lands back on that same person — not on someone else — English marks it with a reflexive pronoun instead of a regular object pronoun.
Compare: "She washed the dishes" — the action lands on the dishes, someone else. "She washed herself" — the action lands back on she, the same person who did it.
The eight reflexive pronouns
English has eight reflexive pronouns, and each one matches a specific subject: myself (I), yourself (you, one person), himself (he), herself (she), itself (it), ourselves (we), yourselves (you, more than one person), themselves (they).
Notice the singular forms end in -self and the plural forms end in -selves: himself but themselves, yourself but yourselves. There's no such word as "hisself" or "theirself" in standard English — those forms don't exist.
Reflexive meaning: the action comes back to the doer
Use a reflexive pronoun when the subject and the object of the verb are the same person or thing — the one doing the action is also the one receiving it.
She cut herself while chopping vegetables. I taught myself to swim one summer. The printer turned itself off after ten minutes of sitting idle.
Emphatic use: doing it alone or without help
A reflexive pronoun can also add emphasis right after a noun or pronoun, to stress that someone did something alone or without anyone else's help. This use doesn't change the basic meaning of the sentence — it just highlights who was responsible.
"I reorganized the garage myself" means basically the same thing as "I reorganized the garage" — myself just emphasizes that nobody helped.
"By myself" (and by yourself, by himself, and so on) specifically means alone, without company or help: "I went to the movies by myself last night." "She solved the puzzle by herself."
Watch the overcorrection: don't use it just to sound polite
Some learners add myself or yourself to a sentence because it sounds more formal or polite. That's a mistake — a reflexive pronoun is only correct when it refers back to the SAME person as the subject of that sentence.
"Please contact myself if you have any questions" is wrong, because there's no subject "I" in that sentence for myself to refer back to — the writer isn't the subject at all. The correct word is the plain object pronoun: "Please contact me if you have any questions."
A quick check: if the subject and the object aren't the same person, you don't need — and shouldn't use — a reflexive pronoun. Use me, you, him, her, or them instead.
Real English
Watch out
A reflexive pronoun only works when it refers back to the same person as the subject. There's no matching "I" in this sentence, so the plain object pronoun me is correct — not the "polite-sounding" myself.
A reflexive pronoun must match the subject in gender and person — he needs himself, not herself.
"Theirselves" isn't a real English word. The plural reflexive form is themselves, no matter how the possessive "their" might suggest otherwise.
The subject we is plural, so the reflexive pronoun must be the plural form ourselves, not the singular yourself.
Real life — Checking in about a small accident
"Are you okay? I heard you hurt yourself in the kitchen."
"I'm fine — I just cut myself a little while slicing bread. Nothing serious."
"Did you bandage it yourself, or did someone help you?"
"I did it myself. I keep a first-aid kit under the sink."
Practice
Exercise 1 · Notice the reflexive pronoun
Which sentence uses a reflexive pronoun to show that the action lands back on the same person who did it?
Exercise 2 · Choose the correct pronoun
Which reflexive pronoun correctly completes this sentence: "My grandmother taught ___ to play piano."
Exercise 3 · Choose the correct form
Which is correct?
Exercise 4 · Choose the correct sentence
Which is correct?
Exercise 5 · Choose the correct pronoun
Which is correct?
Exercise 6 · Choose the correct form
Which is correct?
Exercise 7 · Sort into groups
0 / 6 sorted
Exercise 8 · Build the sentence
Exercise 9 · Build the sentence
Exercise 10 · Build the sentence
Exercise 11 · Complete the sentence
Complete the sentence with the correct reflexive pronoun: The cat cleaned ___ after breakfast. (one word)
Exercise 12 · Complete the sentence
You're talking to one friend. Complete: You should be proud of ___ for finishing the marathon. (one word)
Exercise 13 · Complete the sentence
Complete: We surprised ___ with how quickly we finished the project. (one word)
Exercise 14 · Fix the mistake
Fix the mistake and type the corrected sentence: "Please contact myself if you have any questions about the invoice."
Exercise 15 · Fix the mistake
Fix the mistake and type the corrected sentence: "He hurt herself when he slipped on the wet floor."
Exercise 16 · Real-life scenario
You repaired a leaking faucet without calling a plumber, and you want to emphasize that you did it alone. Complete the sentence: "I fixed the faucet ___."
Quick challenge
Five quick questions to see what's sticking about reflexive pronouns.
Question 1 / 5
Score: 0/0
Complete with the correct reflexive pronoun: The twins dressed ___ before the recital. (one word)
You learned
- A reflexive pronoun points back to the same person who is the subject: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
- Use a reflexive pronoun when the subject and the object of the verb are the same person or thing — the action comes back to the doer.
- Add a reflexive pronoun for emphasis to show someone acted alone or without help — "by myself" means alone.
- Don't add myself or yourself just to sound formal or polite — use it only when it truly refers back to the sentence's own subject.
- Reflexive pronouns must match their subject in person and number — himself for he, themselves for they, and so on.
Related grammar lessons
Demonstrative Pronouns
Learn how to use this, that, these, and those as pronouns that stand on their own — near vs far, singular vs plural — plus the common mistakes to avoid.
Interrogative Pronouns
Learn who, whose, what, and which — the question words you use to ask about a person, an owner, a thing, or a choice — plus a brief, optional note on the more formal "whom."
Reciprocal Pronouns: Each Other & One Another
Learn how each other and one another show mutual action between two or more people — plus their possessive forms, and why the old 'each other = 2, one another = 3+' rule is a myth.
Possessive Adjectives vs Possessive Pronouns
Learn the one rule that separates my, your, his, her, its, our, their from mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs — whether a noun comes right after the possessive word, or nothing does.