A reflexive pronoun points back at the subject of the same clause. It is used when the subject and the object of the verb refer to the same person or thing.
In both sentences, the person doing the action and the person receiving it are identical. That is the single idea behind every reflexive pronoun.
The eight forms
English has eight reflexive pronouns. Singular forms end in -self, plural forms end in -selves.
| SUBJECT | REFLEXIVE |
|---|---|
| I | myself |
| you (one person) | yourself |
| he | himself |
| she | herself |
| it | itself |
| we | ourselves |
| you (more than one) | yourselves |
| they | themselves |
Note the split inside you: one word in the subject position, two different reflexive forms depending on whether you are speaking to one person or several. Yourself for one listener, yourselves for a group.
The forms hisself and theirselves do not exist in standard English. The correct forms are always himself and themselves.
Use 1 — Same subject and object
This is the core use. When the verb acts back on its own subject, the object is a reflexive pronoun.
Without the reflexive, the meaning changes completely. Daniel burned him means Daniel burned a different person. The cat was licking it points to some other object in the room. The reflexive form is what tells the reader that subject and object are the same.
Indirect objects work the same way.
Use 2 — After a preposition
When a preposition refers back to the subject, the pronoun after it is reflexive.
Compare She is proud of her (proud of another woman) with She is proud of herself (proud of her own actions). Same structure, completely different meaning.
Use 3 — For emphasis
A reflexive pronoun can also stand next to a noun or pronoun to stress that person and nobody else. In this use it is often called an intensive pronoun. It can be removed without breaking the sentence — its only job is emphasis.
The emphatic pronoun usually sits either right after the subject it emphasises (The director herself…) or at the end of the clause (I built the shelf myself). Both positions are natural.
Use 4 — *By* + reflexive = alone
By followed by a reflexive pronoun means alone or without help.
This is one of the most common patterns in spoken English. On my own means the same thing, but note the structure: it is by myself and on my own, never by my own or on myself.
Verbs that do not take a reflexive
Some verbs describe actions that people normally do to themselves, so English does not repeat the subject with a reflexive pronoun. This trips up learners whose native language adds a reflexive in these cases.
The most common verbs in this group are feel, relax, wake up, meet, concentrate, and remember.
The same applies to everyday grooming verbs like wash, shave, and dress in their normal use. She washed and got dressed is the natural phrasing; a reflexive is only added when you want to stress that the person managed it alone or unusually (The child can already dress herself).
Reflexive is not reciprocal
A reflexive pronoun describes an action that each person does to themselves. A reciprocal pronoun (each other, one another) describes a mutual action between two or more people. These are covered separately.
Common mistakes
Using a reflexive when subject and object are different
Using a reflexive as a subject
Adding a reflexive to verbs that do not take one
Wrong forms
Mixing up yourself and yourselves
Confusing by myself and on my own