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Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
What is a reflexive pronoun?
Myself
Yourself
Himself
Herself
Itself
Ourselves
Themselves
We use this form when the subject and the object are the same.
Julia liked to challenge herself by picking difficult reading material.
James often tripped himself with his own shoe laces.
One way to see if a reflexive pronoun makes sense is to ask, "Can the subject perform this action on itself?" For instance, if we say, "Julia ate herself an apple," we know that Julia is eating the apple but the sentence sounds like something else!
What is an intensive pronoun?
Myself
Yourself
Himself
Herself
Itself
Ourselves
Themselves
Examples:
I baked these cookies myself.
The king himself came to visit the sick peasant.
How can you tell the difference?
The main difference between a reflexive and intensive pronoun is how it is used in the sentence.
A reflexive pronoun is typically used as an object in a sentence.
Example:
Subject - Verb - Object
I like myself for who I am!
An intensive pronoun usually comes right after another noun to emphasize that noun. It can appear after the subject or object of the sentence!
Example:
Subject - Verb - Object
God Himself (after subject) came to earth to die for our sins.
I got to meet the president himself (after object)!