Reflective Pronouns with Examples

Reflective pronouns are one of the most important concepts to understand in any language. They refer to the subject of a sentence, as they are used to refer back to the subject in order to emphasis it or clarify its role. 

In English, there are eight reflective pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves. In this blog post we will explore these reflective pronouns with examples so that you can understand how they work grammatically and be able to use them correctly in your writing.

What are reflective pronouns?

Reflective pronouns are words that refer back to the subject of a sentence or clause. They are typically used to restate or emphasis something that has already been stated. 

For example,

"I am the one who is responsible for this."

"This is the book that I was telling you about."

"We are the ones who should be worried."

There are several different reflective pronouns, including: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.

Here are some examples of how to use reflective pronouns:

Myself: I did it all by myself!

Yourself: You're going to have to help yourself if you want to get out of this mess.

Himself: He's so smart, he taught himself how to play the violin.

Herself: She's so independent, she never asks for help from anyone – she always does everything herself by herself.

Itself: The computer crashed all by itself – I didn't touch it!

Ourselves: Let's do this ourselves – we don't need any help from them.

Yourselves: You need to take care of yourselves if you want to stay healthy.

Themselves: They're responsible for their own actions.

Examples of reflective pronouns

There are many different types of reflective pronouns, each with its own specific usage and meaning. Here are some examples of the most common reflective pronouns:

-I/Me: Used when referring to oneself

-You: Used when referring to the person being spoken to

-He/She/They: Used when referring to someone or something else

-It: Used when referring to an inanimate object or animal

As you can see, reflective pronouns can be used in a variety of different ways. In general, they are used to add emphasis or clarity to a sentence. For example, if you wanted to emphasis that you were the one doing something, you could use the pronoun "I":

"I'll do it myself!"

Or, if you wanted to clarify that the person you're talking to is the one you're talking about, you could use the pronoun "you":

"Did you hear what happened?"

How to use reflective pronouns

Reflective pronouns are used to refer back to the subject of a sentence or clause. They are typically used for emphasis, to restate an idea, or to introduce new information about the subject.

The most common reflective pronouns are myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, and ourselves. Each of these pronouns has a different function in a sentence.

Myself: I cleaned the house by myself.

Yourself: You can do this project yourself.

Himself: He hurt himself when he fell off his bike.

Herself: She treated herself to a new dress.

Itself: The lamp turned itself off.

Oneself: One should take care of oneself.

Ourselves: We did this project ourselves.