Reflexive and Other Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns

myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Use a reflexive pronoun when the subject and the object are the same person or thing.

✅ She looked at herself in the mirror.
✅ I accidentally cut myself.

Emphatic use

A reflexive pronoun can also emphasise who did something.

✅ The president himself opened the hospital.
✅ Don't help me — I'll do it myself.

by + reflexive = alone

✅ I live by myself.
✅ They cooked dinner by themselves.

each other

For a reciprocal action — two or more people doing the same thing to each other:

✅ Tom and Anna looked at each other.
❌ Tom and Anna looked at themselves. (this means their own reflections)

Verbs that do NOT take a reflexive pronoun

Many everyday verbs are used without a reflexive: wash, shave, dress, relax, concentrate, feel, meet, hurry, hide.

❌ I wash myself every morning. → ✅ I wash every morning.
❌ It's hard to concentrate myself. → ✅ It's hard to concentrate.

But: some verbs do need one — enjoy yourself, help yourself, hurt yourself.

Impersonal you / one / they

• you = people in general: You can't smoke here.
• one = a more formal "people in general": One should always be polite.
• they = unspecified people: They are building a new road.

Common mistakes

❌	✅
themselfs / theirselves	themselves
I relax myself at weekends.	I relax at weekends.
They looked at themselves. (mutually)	They looked at each other.
I live by my own.	I live by myself.