Reflexive Pronouns

You already know that reflexive pronouns end with -self and are used when the same person does and receives an action. Now you will learn the full set of reflexive pronouns, including the plural forms ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.

What You'll Learn

• How to use ourselves, yourselves, and themselves for groups of people
• The difference between singular reflexive pronouns (-self) and plural reflexive pronouns (-selves)
• How to choose the correct reflexive pronoun in different types of sentences

When to Use

1. When a group does something to themselves: "We made the decorations by ourselves for the class party."
2. When you talk about yourself doing the action: "I reminded myself to bring my PE shoes."
3. When someone does something alone or without help: "The children cleaned up the classroom themselves."
4. When you want to add emphasis: "The principal herself came to watch our performance."

How to Form

You learnt the singular reflexive pronouns in Primary 2. Here is the complete table with the plural forms added.

Singular Reflexive Pronouns (Revision)

Plural Reflexive Pronouns (New)

How the Pattern Works

Notice: For plural reflexive pronouns, the ending changes from -self to -selves. This tells you that more than one person is involved.

Key Rules

1. Match singular subjects with -self, plural subjects with -selves: "I" goes with "myself" (one person). "We" goes with "ourselves" (more than one person).
2. The subject and reflexive pronoun must refer to the same person(s): "They enjoyed themselves" is correct because "they" and "themselves" refer to the same group of people.
3. "By + reflexive pronoun" means without help: "We solved the puzzle by ourselves." means the group solved it without anyone's help.
4. Use reflexive pronouns for emphasis: You can place a reflexive pronoun right after the noun to show that the person really did it. "The teacher himself joined in the game."
5. Do not use a reflexive pronoun when the doer and receiver are different: "She helped them" is correct. "She helped themselves" is wrong because "she" and "themselves" are different people.

Common Mistakes

Clue Words

Words that often appear with reflexive pronouns:

by, hurt, cut, wash, dress, enjoy, help, introduce, teach, remind, prepare, proud of, take care of, look after, blame, behave

Patterns that signal plural reflexive pronouns:

"We ... ourselves", "They ... themselves", "You all ... yourselves", "The children ... themselves", "The boys ... themselves"

Emphasis patterns:

"I myself", "she herself", "the teacher himself", "we ourselves", "they themselves"

Tip: Count the people! If the subject is one person, the reflexive pronoun ends in -self. If the subject is more than one person, it ends in -selves.

Practice Tips

1. Count and match: First, find the subject of the sentence. Is it one person or more than one? One person gets "-self" and more than one person gets "-selves".
2. Same person check: Ask yourself: "Is the person doing the action the same as the person receiving it?" If yes, you need a reflexive pronoun. If no, use a regular pronoun instead.
3. Emphasis test: Take out the reflexive pronoun from the sentence. If the sentence still makes sense but loses the "I really did it" feeling, the reflexive pronoun was used for emphasis.
4. Replace and read aloud: Try replacing the reflexive pronoun with a different one. Does it still match the subject? Reading the sentence aloud helps you hear if something sounds wrong.

Quick Reference