The action reflects back to the subject.
A reflexive pronoun points back to the person or thing doing the action.
What is a reflexive pronoun?
A reflexive pronoun is a type of pronoun that refers back to the subject of a sentence, whether that subject is a noun, pronoun, adjective, or adverb. Reflexive pronouns denote the reflected action back onto the subject, like a mirror image performed by the subject. Reflexive pronouns refer to the subject used as the object of a verb.
Reflexive pronouns are formed by adding -self to singular personal pronouns and –selves to plural personal pronouns.
There are eight reflexive pronouns in English. Let’s have a look.
Singular Number
- Myself
- Yourself
- Himself
- Herself
- Itself
Plural number
- Ourselves
- Yourselves
- Themselves
Examples of Reflexive Pronouns
We can see reflexive pronouns in the following examples.
Reflexive pronouns are used in singular and plural forms.
| Singular Number | Plural Number |
|---|---|
| I educate myself. | We educate ourselves. |
| You educate yourself. | You educate yourselves. |
| He educates himself. | They educate themselves. |
| She educates herself. | They educate themselves. |
| It educates itself. | They educate themselves. |
More examples of reflexive pronouns
- I taught myself to build a website.
- You are speaking to yourself.
- He had to earn money, so he went to the office himself.
- The principal writes official letters herself because no one can write so well.
- We often tell ourselves not to do bad things.
- The students decorated their class by themselves.
Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves are compound personal pronouns.
Compound personal pronouns are used as emphatic pronouns or reflexive pronouns.
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