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Reflexive Pronoun  We use a reflexive pronoun in a sentence to refer back to a subject that has already been identified.  "Reflexive" means "going back to itself."  Reflexive pronouns show that the action affects the person who performs the action.  They end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).  The reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves.  A reflexive pronoun is used when the object of a sentence is the same as the subject.  Reflexive pronouns act as the object of the sentence by receiving the action. She hugs herself.

A subject in a sentence is the noun that is performing the action.  The dog played. In this sentence dog is the subject The object of a sentence receives the action.  The dog played with the ball. In this sentence, the ball is the object because it is receiving the action.

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http://www.really-learn-english.com/reflexive-pronoun.html

Summary table Personal Pronoun

Reflexive Pronoun

I

myself

you (singular)

yourself

you (plural)

yourselves

he

himself

she

herself

it

itself

we

ourselves

they

themselves

Reflexive pronouns always act as the objects, not subjects. Examples:  The vase fell off the shelf by itself.  The subject of this sentence is the vase. The object of this sentence is also the vase (itself). 

Sally talks to herself.  Sally is the subject of this sentence. Sally is also the object of this sentence (herself).

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Incorrect: Lisa and myself are going to the park.  In this sentence, Lisa and myself are the subjects. Reflexive pronouns cannot be subjects.



Correct: I bought myself a piece of pie.  In this sentence I is the subject and myself is the object.  The reflexive pronoun is correctly used as an object in this sentence.

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http://www.really-learn-english.com/reflexive-pronoun.html

How to use a reflexive pronoun 1. Use a reflexive pronoun when the subject and object are the same. She exhausted herself.

Examples:  He tripped himself.  The cat cleaned itself.  Nick bought himself some popcorn.  We tried to fix it ourselves. 2. Use a reflexive pronoun as the object of a preposition when the subject and object are the same. He thought to himself.

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http://www.really-learn-english.com/reflexive-pronoun.html

A preposition is a word that is used before a noun to show its connection to another word in the sentence. Here are a few common prepositions:  with  by  for  from  as  among  to Examples:  She is talking to herself.  He will go to the party by himself.  The boy finished it by himself.  We bought gifts for ourselves. 3. Use a reflexive pronoun to emphasize, or stress, the subject of a sentence. He drove the tractor himself.

Examples:  He will do it himself. (He does not need any help.)  They painted the house themselves. (No one else helped them.)  The cat hurt itself. (No one else hurt the cat.)  My son read the book himself. (My son did not need help to read the book.)

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http://www.really-learn-english.com/reflexive-pronoun.html

More examples of reflexive pronouns Incorrect: The students completed the work by himself and herself. Correct: The students completed the work by themselves. Incorrect: She hurt himself. Correct: She hurt herself. Incorrect: We want to go by themselves. Correct: We want to go by ourselves. Incorrect: Tim and himself are cleaning the garage. Correct: Tim is cleaning the garage by himself.

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