A practical english grammar - Vyssaja skola 1978

The -SELF pronouns
Sound symbols

English has a special set of pronouns, often called “reflexive,” that are used as objects of transitive verbs and prepositions whenever the object is the same person or thing as the subject.

myself   herself  ourselves

yourself   itself  yourselves

himself   oneself themselves

These pronouns can be used as direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of prepositions.

John cut himself while he was shaving this morning.

She bought herself a new dress.

Children often talk to themselves.

Another important use of these pronouns is as an intensifier or special identifier of some noun in the sentence. Except in formal style and with the passive voice, the intensifying pronoun is placed at the end of the predicate, regardless of which noun it refers to.

Formal:

I spoke to the President myself.

I myself spoke to the President.

I spoke to the President himself.

Formal:

The President must sign this document himself.

The President himself must sign this document.

Because of the rule about placing the intensifier last, regardless of which noun it refers to, the following sentence is ambiguous, since it is not clear which noun himself intensifies.

He spoke to the President himself.

The idiom by . . . self means “alone” or “without help.”

I enjoy walking in the woods by myself.

The children arranged the party by themselves.