The Grammar Business

Part Two
5. Reflexive pronouns:
when not to use them

The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

Reflexive pronouns are

myself
yourself
himself/herself
itself
yourselves
ourselves
themselves
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The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

They refer back to the subject of

the sentence

I am not so sure myself.

She herself has no idea who her father is.
He dressed himself carefully.
We didnt arrive ourselves until much, much
later.
You think Im beautiful? Youre beautiful
yourself.

The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

Common error
Using the reflexive pronoun instead of
the personal pronoun as the object of
the sentence
e.g. He gave it to myself
Which should be He gave it to me.

The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

So its wrong to say

Jane was very sure of myself
It doesnt make sense.
Jane can be sure of herself, but not of
myself.
The reflexive pronoun has to agree with
the subject of the sentence, which in
this case, is Jane.
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The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

It is correct to say
Jane was very sure of herself - and very sure
of me.
She was fooling herself actually, but she
wasnt fooling me.
Thats what I told myself at the time.
Later, it transpired that we had both, to some
extent, been deceiving ourselves.

The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

And it is correct to say

My friend and I went out on Saturday.
But not
My friend and myself went out on
Saturday.

The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

Whats wrong with this one?

He gave a cheque to her and to myself.

The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

It should be
He gave a cheque to her and to me.

The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

Correct the following sentences, then

compare what youve got with the
answers on the next slide
He hit her, but neither myself, nor Jeremy.
The Prime Minister has informed myself of
the seriousness of the situation.
The slug has slimed itself and myself too.
The King and myself are delighted to meet
yourselves.
He has informed himself but not yourselves of
the situation.
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The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

Answers below

He hit her, but neither me, nor Jeremy.

The Prime Minister has informed me of the
seriousness of the situation.
The slug has slimed itself and me too.
The King and I are delighted to meet you.
He has informed himself but not you of the
situation.
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The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

Health warning:
grammatical rules tend to change through
common usage
in speech, it is becoming more common to use
the reflexive pronoun (myself) instead of the
personal pronoun (me) to add emphasis
so
you may well hear: The offer was extended to
myself.
but dont write it!

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The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College

If this still confuses you

try the exercise on Handout Five

(go on yoursel son!)

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The Grammar Business 2001 Glenrothes College