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    Reflexive Intensive Pronouns

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    Reflexive Intensive Pronouns

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    ReflexiveIntensivePronouns (2)

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    Reflexive Intensive Pronouns

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    Handout on Grammar

    Reflexive Pronouns

    Reflexive sounds like reflection, the image in the mirror that bounces back at you. A reflexive
    pronoun tells us that whoever performs the action in a sentence is also the one on the receiving
    end of that action. In other words, the reflexive pronoun reflects back to the subject. A reflexive
    pronoun can be used as the direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition in a
    sentence.

    Reflexive Pronouns

    Singular Plural

    myself ourselves

    yourself yourselves

    himself themselves
    herself
    itself

    The puppy saw itself in the mirror.


    Itself is the direct object in the sentence. The pronoun itself refers back to the subject. The
    puppy saw the puppy in the mirror.

    Hint:

    If you're still not sure whom the pronoun is referring to, ask yourself questions to break down
    the sentence.

    1. Find the subject (doer) and the verb (action): Who saw? The puppy saw.
    (The puppy is doing the action.)
    2. Find the object: What did the puppy see? Itself, the puppy.
    (The puppy is also receiving the action.)
    3. Know When not to Use Reflexive Pronouns ...
    4. Do not use reflexive pronouns instead of subject or object pronouns.
    Error Correction

    Mark and myself went to the movies. Mark and I went to the movies.

    Our teacher gave Sara and myself an award for Our teacher gave Sara and me an award for
    the best project. the best project.

    ...And Recognize the Reflexives That Don't Actually Exist!

    There are several nonexistent reflexive pronouns that people commonly use, such
    as hisself, ourself, theirself, themself, and theirselves. If you use any of these pronouns,
    here is a simple chart to show you which pronouns to use instead.

    Error Correction

    hisself himself

    ourself ourselves

    theirself, theirselves, themselves


    or themself

    Intensive Pronouns

    Intensive is like intense. Something intense is very strong. An intensive pronoun emphasizes a
    preceding noun, which is often (but not always) the noun immediately before the pronoun.
    Intensive pronouns look exactly the same as reflexive pronouns, but they are only used for
    emphasis.

    1. The queen herself gave the knight the award.


    The queen gave the knight the award herself.

    Herself refers to the queen. Using an intensive pronoun tells the reader (or listener) that it's a
    big deal that the queen gave the award. After all, she's not just anybody—she's the queen!

    Because intensive pronouns are used only for emphasis, they can be removed from a sentence
    without affecting its meaning. The same is not true of reflexive pronouns, which do cause a
    change in meaning when removed from a sentence. Look at the following comparison to
    understand the difference.

    Reflexive Intensive

    The queen bought herself a dog. The queen bought the dog herself.
    Reflexive Intensive

    The queen bought something for herself. The intensive pronoun herself merely
    She is both completing and receiving the emphasizes the fact that the queen (not
    action in the sentence. someone else) was the one who bought the
    dog.

    Notice how the meaning changes when If the intensive pronoun is removed, the
    we remove the reflexive pronoun: meaning doesn't change:

    The queen bought herself a dog. The queen bought the dog herself.

    Did the queen buy the dog for herself, or The queen still bought the dog regardless of
    did she buy it for someone else? Without whether the intensive pronoun is in the
    the reflexive pronoun, there's no way to sentence or not.
    know for sure.

    Discussion 2

    Are you yourself confused by reflexive pronouns being used intensively, or is it only your
    students who are confused?

    As we were working on the Gerald R. Ford lesson this week at ESL Library, the topic
    of intensive pronouns came up because of this sentence:

    “President Nixon himself resigned a year later due to his involvement in an illegal
    cover-up related to his re-election campaign.”

    This got us talking about reflexive pronouns that are specifically used for emphasis, which
    are known as intensive pronouns. But what are the differences in usage and sentence
    position between reflexive pronouns in general and intensive pronouns? Here is the
    breakdown for teaching these pronouns to your students:

    Reflexive Pronouns
    Usage

    Reflexive pronouns reflect the subject of the verb. Use these pronouns when
    the subject and object of the verb are the same person.
    Sentence Position

    Reflexive pronouns are most often found in the object position. They can also appear in
    an indirect object position, meaning they can follow a preposition.

    Examples

    • We asked ourselves if the new system would actually work. (direct object)
    • I really hurt myself this morning when I fell down the stairs. (direct object)
    • She looked at herself in the mirror for hours. (indirect object)
    • They think of themselves as upstanding members of the community. (indirect object)

    Intensive Pronouns
    Usage

    Intensive pronouns are reflexive pronouns that are used to emphasize the subject or
    object noun.

    Sentence Position

    Intensive pronouns are usually appositive, meaning they follow the subject directly. They
    can also follow an object.

    Examples

    • President Nixon himself resigned a year later due to his involvement in an illegal cover-
    up related to his re-election campaign.
    • Even though everyone expected her to know it already, she herself was surprised by
    the news.
    • I am not a very punctual person myself.
    • You don’t need help. You can do it yourself.

    Summary
    Reflexive pronouns are the object or indirect object of the main verb, and therefore
    will follow the verb. Intensive pronouns will never appear in an object position; they
    will follow a noun (appositive).

    Compare the following sentences to make the distinction crystal clear:

    • I cut myself. (Reflexive; myself is the object of the verb cut; I did this action to myself.)
    • I cut her hair myself. (Intensive; my hair is the object of the
    verb cut; myself emphasizes the subject I because it’s surprising/unexpected that I cut
    her hair since I’m not a hairdresser.)
    Note:

    A preposition isn’t enough to determine whether a pronoun is reflexive or intensive. The


    important thing is to look for the object. Remember, if there is another object, the
    pronoun is probably intensive.

    • Why were you staring at yourself in the mirror? (Reflexive; at yourself is the indirect
    object of the verb were staring.)
    • You can do it by yourself (Intensive; it is the object of the verb do.)

    References:

    Ellii. (n.d.). Reflexive vs. intensive pronouns. Ellii. https://ellii.com/blog/reflexive-vs-intensive-


    pronouns

    English Grammar 101 - Pronouns, Lesson 4: Reflexive and Intensive pronouns. (n.d.).
    https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-2/pronouns/lesson-4/reflexive-and-
    intensive-pronouns

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