President Obama himself shook my hand emphasizes the importance of President Obama.The Queen of England herself attended my daughter’s graduation emphasizes the importance of the Queen of England.The purpose of intensive pronouns is to emphasize the subject of the sentence and draw additional attention to who they are. You can use a reflexive pronoun immediately after the subject to make it an intensive pronoun. Use Reflexive Pronouns as Intensive Pronouns You shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened means “you shouldn’t blame you”.Joanna pinched herself to see if she was dreaming means “Joanna pinched Joanna”.John kicked himself when he realized he’d messed up means “John kicked John”.The most common way to use a reflexive pronoun is when the subject of a sentence is also the object of the sentence. Use Reflexive Pronouns When the Subject and Object Are the Same There are many specific circumstances in which we use reflexive pronouns. The reflexive pronoun here tells us that Miranda is directing the smile at Miranda, in a smoother and clearer way. To improve the sentence, you can replace the second “Miranda” with a reflexive pronoun: Miranda smiled at herself in the mirror. This sentence is grammatically correct, but it sounds clunky and repetitive, and it also leaves room for error because there might be two Mirandas in the room. This way, you can explain what’s happening without having to repeat the same subject twice.įor example, you might write the sentence Miranda smiled at Miranda in the mirror, where Miranda is both the subject and the object.

You use reflexive pronouns when the subject of a sentence is also the object of the sentence. The plural reflexive pronouns are ourselves, yourselves, and themselves. In English, the singular reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, herself, himself, and itself.

Need Extra Help with Reflexive Pronouns?.What Are Some Examples of Reflexive Pronouns Used in a Sentence?.When Are Some Common Mistakes When Using Reflexive Pronouns?.When Should You Use Reflexive Pronouns?.

What is reflexive pronoun