Posted by Here we go! Time to get into the difficult stuff! Reflexive pronouns!
Use a reflexive pronoun (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves) when the object of a sentence is the same person, thing, or idea as the subject:
Hiroshi sent Hiroshi a copy of the email.
Hiroshi sent him a copy of the email. (This sounds like HIroshi sent the email to another person).
✔ Hiroshi sent himself a copy of the email.
Reflexive pronouns are sometimes used to add emphasis:
Jane criticized her employees for being late, yet she herself was frequently late. (she and herself are the same person — Jane)
Reflexive pronouns frequently follow the preposition by:
You don’t have to finish the project by yourself.
Complete the sentences with the correct reflexive pronoun.
- It is important that all students do their work by _________________.
- Send me a copy of the report, and also keep one for ______________.
- When we looked at the old photo, we couldn’t recognize ______________.
- Dr. Kim’s early research was directly related to his new study, so he quoted _________________ in the journal article.
- Amina was able to finish the work ____________, so she didn’t ask for any help.