Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence. At this level, you will practise using them accurately in complex sentence structures -- including compound subjects, relative clauses, and multi-clause sentences where the subject-object relationship is harder to identify.

What You'll Learn

How to use reflexive pronouns correctly in sentences with compound subjects and objects
How to handle reflexive pronouns in relative clauses and embedded clauses
How to avoid common errors when reflexive pronouns appear far from the subject they refer to
How to distinguish reflexive from emphatic (intensive) uses in formal writing

When to Use

Compound subjects with reflexive actions: "My brother and I promised ourselves that we would finish the project by Friday."
Relative clauses: "The student who had prepared herself thoroughly for the examination felt confident."
Conditional sentences: "If you find yourself struggling with the question, move on to the next one."
Embedded clauses: "The teacher told us that we should check ourselves before handing in our work."
Emphatic use in formal writing: "The principal herself presented the awards at the ceremony."

How to Form

Complete Reflexive Pronoun Table

You already know all eight reflexive pronouns. Here is the full set for quick reference:

Subject	Reflexive Pronoun	Number
I	myself	singular
you (one person)	yourself	singular
he	himself	singular
she	herself	singular
it	itself	singular
we	ourselves	plural
you (more than one)	yourselves	plural
they	themselves	plural

Reflexive Pronouns in Complex Structures

In longer sentences, the reflexive pronoun may be separated from its subject by many words. Always trace back to find the true subject.

Structure	Example	Subject Traced
Compound subject	My sister and I taught ourselves to bake.	"My sister and I" = ourselves
Relative clause	The boy who hurt himself during recess went to the general office.	"who" refers to "the boy" = himself
Reported speech	She said that she would handle it herself.	inner "she" = herself
Conditional clause	If he finds himself in trouble, he should ask for help.	"he" = himself
Participial phrase	Having prepared themselves well, the students sat for the paper with confidence.	"the students" = themselves

Reflexive vs Emphatic Use

The same pronoun can serve two different purposes. The meaning depends on its position and function.

Use	Example	How to Tell
Reflexive (object)	She cut herself while slicing the onion.	The pronoun is the object -- it receives the action
Emphatic (for emphasis)	She herself admitted the mistake.	The pronoun appears right after the subject or at the end, adding emphasis -- it can be removed without changing the core meaning

Key Rules

Match the reflexive pronoun to the true subject: In complex sentences, the subject may not be the first noun you see. "The captain told the players that they should push themselves harder." Here, "themselves" matches "they" (the players), not "the captain."
Use reflexive pronouns only when subject and object refer to the same person: "She bought herself a new bag" is correct because the buyer and the receiver are the same. "She bought her a new bag" means she bought it for someone else.
Compound subjects take plural reflexive pronouns: When two or more people share the action, use the plural form. "Ahmad and Mei Ling challenged themselves to read fifty books this year." Do not write "challenged himself and herself."
Never use reflexive pronouns as subjects: A reflexive pronoun cannot replace a subject pronoun. Write "My father and I went to the hawker centre," not "My father and myself went to the hawker centre."
Never use reflexive pronouns after prepositions when the subject is different: "She sat beside him" (two different people) is correct. "She sat beside himself" is wrong. Use "himself" only if the subject is also "he."
Emphatic reflexive pronouns can be removed without changing the sentence's core meaning: "The minister himself opened the new MRT station" can become "The minister opened the new MRT station." If removing the pronoun makes the sentence incomplete, it is reflexive, not emphatic.
In formal writing, place emphatic pronouns directly after the noun they emphasise: "The students themselves organised the fundraiser" is preferred over "The students organised the fundraiser themselves" in formal contexts, though both are grammatically correct.

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
My friends and myself completed the assignment.	My friends and I completed the assignment.	"Myself" cannot be used as a subject; use "I"
The teacher asked John and myself to stay behind.	The teacher asked John and me to stay behind.	"Myself" cannot replace "me" as an object when the subject is someone else (the teacher)
Ahmad and Priya reminded himself and herself to study.	Ahmad and Priya reminded themselves to study.	Compound subjects take the plural reflexive pronoun
The dog chased it's own tail and hurt themself.	The dog chased its own tail and hurt itself.	"It" matches "itself"; "themself" is not standard English
She said that she would let me do it by himself.	She said that she would let me do it by myself.	"Me" matches "myself", not "himself"
The volunteers which prepared herself were ready.	The volunteers who had prepared themselves were ready.	"Volunteers" is plural (themselves); use "who" for people, not "which"

Clue Words

Verbs commonly paired with reflexive pronouns in complex sentences

remind, prepare, challenge, find (find oneself), push, distance, compose, introduce, express, dedicate, devote, avail

Phrases that signal emphatic use

he himself, she herself, they themselves, the (noun) itself, I myself, we ourselves

Expressions where reflexive pronouns are fixed

by myself/yourself/etc. (alone), in itself (inherently), help yourself/yourselves (invitation), among ourselves/themselves (within a group), beside oneself (very upset), enjoy oneself

Tip: When you see a long sentence with many clauses, draw an arrow from the reflexive pronoun back to the subject it refers to. If the arrow points to the subject of the same clause, the reflexive pronoun is correct. If it points to a different clause's subject or to no one, you probably need a personal pronoun instead.

Practice Tips

Clause-by-clause analysis: Break a complex sentence into its individual clauses. Identify the subject and object of each clause separately. This helps you see whether the reflexive pronoun matches the correct subject. "The coach reminded the players [that they should pace themselves]" -- the inner clause has "they" as subject, so "themselves" is correct.
Removal test for emphatic pronouns: Try removing the reflexive pronoun. If the sentence still makes grammatical sense and only loses emphasis, the pronoun is emphatic. If removing it makes the sentence incomplete or changes the meaning, it is a true reflexive pronoun.
Subject swap check: Replace the compound subject with a single pronoun to verify the reflexive form. "Ahmad and I prepared ourselves" becomes "We prepared ourselves" -- both use the plural form, so it is correct.
Read across clauses: In multi-clause sentences from comprehension passages, underline every reflexive pronoun and draw a line to its matching subject. Practise this with newspaper articles or story extracts to build speed and accuracy for examinations.

Quick Reference

Reflexive Pronouns in Complex Sentence Types

Sentence Type	Example	Key Check
Compound subject	Wei Lin and I reminded ourselves to bring our textbooks.	Compound subject = plural reflexive
Relative clause	The girl who pushed herself to practise daily won the competition.	Match "who" back to its antecedent
Reported speech	He mentioned that he would do it himself.	Match to the subject of the inner clause
Conditional	If they find themselves lost, they should call for help.	Match to the subject of the "if" clause
Emphatic	The headmistress herself served food at the charity event.	Can be removed -- adds emphasis only

Common Errors at a Glance

Error Type	Wrong	Correct
Reflexive as subject	Myself and Tom went.	I and Tom went.
Reflexive as unrelated object	Give it to myself.	Give it to me.
Singular for compound subject	They reminded himself.	They reminded themselves.
Wrong person match	She told me to help yourself.	She told me to help myself.
Non-standard form	They hurt theirselves.	They hurt themselves.

Reflexive Pronouns (P6) (Primary 6)