REFLEXIVE and RECIPROCAL pronouns

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

In the English language a reflexive pronoun is a word referring to the subject of the sentence or clause in which it stands; it ends in -self or -selves, and refers to a previously named noun or pronoun (myself, yourself, ourselves...)

They show that the action of the verb affects the person or thing performing the action. This is known as a reflexive function – in effect, the subject and the object of the verb are the same (I fell over and hurt, myself). The subject is known as the antecedent of the reflexive pronoun.Each personal pronoun has its own reflexive form:

• I — myself
• you — yourself/yourselves
• he — himself
• she — herself
• one — oneself
• it — itself
• we — ourselves
• they — themselves                                                                      
  She saw herself as a superstar.
  Are you two enjoying yourselves?
  They portray themselves as angry outsiders.
  Over and over again, one asks oneself that question.             Consider yourself lucky.                                                         She asked herself if she would be better off with him or without him.
  My brother really hurt himself when he fell off his bike yesterday.                                                                            After the accident, Alison still does not trust herself.
  We often ask ourselves why we left London.
  The Government has so far refused to commit itself to introducing a public smoking ban.

 Most transitive verbs – those that take an object write a letter, read a book… - can be used as reflexive verbs. Compare the following examples:

John pinched himself.(The reflexive pronoun himself tells us that John did something to John.)

John pinched his sister.(There is no reflexive pronoun in this example because in this sentence the verb pinched is being used as a transitive verb and his sister is the direct object). Here you are some more examples:

 She looked at me and then left she looked at herself in the mirror.

 We encourage ourselves to learn something new every week.

 We encouraged them to do it as soon as possible.

 She convinced herself that it was the best option.

 She convinced him that it was the only possible solution.

 He shot himself soon after he went bankrupt. 

 This is just a toy gun; it doesn’t shoot real bullets.

 He likes to keep his gramdma company on Sunday afternoons 

 They like to keep themselves fit

Intensive pronouns

These pronouns can also be used intensively, to emphasize the identity of whoever or whatever is being talked about:

• Jim bought himself a book (reflexive)
• Jim himself bought a book (intensive)
• Jeff brought himself a book(reflexive)
• Jeff himself brought a book (intensive)

 An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent. Look at these examples: 
 I made it myself. OR I myself made it.
 Have you yourself seen it? OR Have you seen it yourself? 
 The President himself promised to stop the war.
 She spoke to me herself. OR She herself spoke to me. 
 The exam itself wasn't difficult but we had very little time. 
 Never mind. We'll do it ourselves.
 You yourselves asked us to do it.
Sam fixed the car himself. 
 They recommend this book even though they themselves had never read it. Harvey himself sent a letter to the manager. 
 The girls themselves guided the team to success.
No approach has yet been made to Thatcher herself over the plans.
The responsibility for renting out school facilities will be transferred direct to the schools themselves.
 I myself forgot about these issues and most people are too polite to mention them.

By + Reflexive Pronouns

We use by + myself/yourself/himself etc. when we are alone or not with another person:

 Jacob went to the party by himself.

 Emma was sitting by herself.

We often use reflexive pronouns with by to mean ‘alone’ or ‘without any help’: Why don’t you go by yourself? 
 The children made the entire meal by themselves. 
He lived by himself in an enormous house.
She walked home by herself. 
 The children got dressed by themselves.
I prepared the whole meal by myself.

VIDEO on Reflexive and Intensive pronouns. To watch it click HERE

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS

A reciprocal pronoun is a pronoun that expresses mutual action or relationship. A reciprocal pronoun is a pronoun which we use in the sentence to show the same action performed by two or more people including the benefits and consequences of that action to them simultaneously. Each other is the most common reciprocal pronoun in English.

 Terry and Jack were talking to each other in the hallway. 

 Both teams played hard against each other. 

 That can’t talk to each other. 

 Kevin and I spent a lot of time at each other’s houses when we were kids.                                                                       

 John and Mary like each other’s parents.

 Paul and Ann hugged each other.                                                           They are always fighting each other about trivial matters.                    

Their children used to help each other with their homework.     They kissed each other after the engagement announcement 

 They said goodbye to each other at the airport 

 The members of the football team congratulated each other on winning the world cup

Now go to the following links if you want to get some practice:

REFLEXIVE and RECIPROCAL

LINK 1

LINK 2

LINK 3

REFLEXIVE and EMPHATIC

LINK 4