Reflexive pronouns and each other
Myself, yourself, themselves when the subject and the object are the same person, by myself, and each other.
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We use a reflexive pronoun (myself, yourself, themselves ...) when the subject and the object of a verb are the same person: I cut myself. We use each other when two or more people do the same thing to the other person: They looked at each other. Many verbs that need a reflexive form in other languages don't take one in English.
The forms
Subject | Reflexive | Subject | Reflexive |
|---|---|---|---|
I | myself | we | ourselves |
you | yourself | you | yourselves |
he | himself | they | themselves |
she | herself | ||
it | itself |
Yourself is for one person, yourselves for more than one.
The same person
Use the reflexive when the person does the action to himself or herself.
- Be careful with that knife. Don't cut yourself.
- She taught herself to play the guitar.
- The children made themselves sandwiches.
- Please help yourselves to coffee.
Some verbs often take a reflexive in fixed phrases: enjoy yourself (have a good time), help yourself (take what you want), behave yourself.
- Incorrect: Did you enjoy at the party?
- Correct: Did you enjoy yourself at the party? / Did you enjoy the party?Enjoy needs an object: yourself, or the thing you enjoyed.
No reflexive in English
Many everyday verbs have no reflexive in English, although other languages use one: relax, feel, meet, concentrate, worry, hurry, laugh, wake up, sit down.
- I can't relax after work.
- How do you feel today?
- Try to concentrate.
- Incorrect: I can't relax myself when it's noisy.
- Correct: I can't relax when it's noisy.Relax has no reflexive in English.
- Incorrect: We met ourselves at university.
- Correct: We met at university.Meet has no reflexive. They met means they met each other.
- Incorrect: I feel myself much better today.
- Correct: I feel much better today.After feel, put the adjective straight after the verb.
With wash, dress and shave, English usually has no reflexive either: I got up, washed and got dressed. He dressed himself is possible, but it suggests that it was difficult, for example for a small child.
Each other
Each other means that each person does the action to the other. Compare:
- Anna and Tom looked at themselves in the mirror. (Anna looked at Anna, Tom at Tom.)
- Anna and Tom looked at each other. (Anna looked at Tom, and Tom at Anna.)
- Incorrect: My sister and I call ourselves every day.
- Correct: My sister and I call each other every day.Each one calls the other, so use each other.
One another means the same and is a little more formal.
Emphasis: I did it myself
A reflexive can also add emphasis: it means "this person, and nobody else". It usually goes at the end, or right after the noun.
- I painted the kitchen myself. (Nobody helped me.)
- The manager herself answered my email.
By myself, on my own
By myself and on my own mean "alone" or "without help".
- My grandmother lives by herself.
- Did you build that on your own?
- Incorrect: He did all the work by his own.
- Correct: He did all the work by himself. / He did all the work on his own.Use by + reflexive, or on + my, your, his ... own.
After a preposition of place
After a preposition of place, we usually use the object pronoun, not the reflexive: She put her bag next to her. He closed the door behind him.
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Where this rule sits
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