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Do you like to teach yourself English? Or do you like to learn in a classroom with the help of a teacher?

Do you enjoy spending time by yourself?

Wait! Why are we asking you all these questions? We've asked these questions to highlight the word yourself, this is an example of a reflexive pronoun. Although they might seem tricky at first, if you understand the idea behind them you'll sound a lot more like a native speaker.

The reflexive pronouns are:

When To Use a Reflexive Pronoun

We use a reflexive pronoun:

as a direct object when the object and the subject of the verb are the same

I am teaching myself how to cook

You should be careful running at night. You might hurt yourself.

They are used to make it clear who or what is being referred to. Compare these two sentences:

We couldn't say Shaun blamed Shaun for being late either, as this sounds odd and could be referring to two different people called Shaun. We need reflexive pronouns to make it completey clear what is happening in the sentence.

We can use a reflexive pronoun as a direct object with most transitive verbs. The most commonly used verbs with reflexive pronouns are:

Some verbs change their meaning slightly when used with a reflexive pronoun. Some examples of this are:

amuse, apply, busy, content, behave, blame, distance, express, find, help, see

Reflexive Pronouns for Emphasis

We can also use reflexive pronouns for emphasis:

The manager of the hotel wrote to us himself to apologise for the poor service we received.

We don't use reflexive pronouns on their own as a subject in the clause, but they can be used with a noun or pronoun to emphasise the subject:

Many people have too many cups and glasses. I myself have 34.

By + Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are often used with by to mean on your own, without any help or alone.

Can you come with me to the supermarket? Why can't you go by yourself?

We redecorated the entire house by ourselves.

Reflexive Pronouns for Politeness

Reflexive pronouns can also sometimes be used for politeness instead of a personal pronoun, but not as a subject of the clause:

It's people like yourself that we wish to inspire.

For more information about Reflexive Pronouns in English and other languages, Wikipedia has this very in-depth article.

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