Grammar Practice in Context - David Bolton, Noel Goodey 1997
68 Reflexive and emphatic pronouns: myself, themselves, etc.
Quick reference
• We use a reflexive pronoun (myself, themselves, etc.) when the subject and object of the verb are the same person. The action is directed back to the person who does it.
She hurt herself. (She and herself are the same person.)
Singular: I > myself, you > yourself, he > himself, she > herself, it > itself
Plural: we > ourselves, you > yourselves, they > themselves
• The most common reflexive verbs are: to amuse yourself, to behave yourself, to blame yourself, to burn yourself, to control yourself, to cut yourself, to dry yourself, to enjoy yourself, to help yourself, to hurt yourself, to kill yourself, to look after yourself, to make yourself (a cup of tea, etc.), to buy yourself (a new sweater, etc.)
• Note that the following verbs aren’t normally reflexive in English.
to change (your clothes), to dress, to wake up, to get up, to go to bed, to shave, to wash
to stand up, to sit down, to lie down, to relax, to rest
to feel tired, bored, etc.
to complain, to concentrate, to remember, to worry
• We sometimes use a reflexive pronoun after an adjective + preposition.
to be angry/pleased with yourself, to be ashamed/proud of yourself, to be sorry/responsible for yourself
• Note the expression by myself, by themselves, etc. meaning ’on my own, on their own’, etc.
/ don’t like living by myself. (= on my own, alone)
• Note the difference between ourselves, yourselves, themselves and each other.
A and В blamed themselves for the accident. (= They said they were both responsible.)
A and В blamed each other for the accident. (= A blamed B, and В blamed A.)
• We use emphatic pronouns to emphasise that someone does something without help.
/ can do it myself. (= I don’t need any help.) The children made the cake themselves.
• We sometimes use an emphatic pronoun to emphasise a noun or a pronoun.
The teacher herself couldn’t answer the question. (= Even the teacher couldn’t answer it.)
1 Alice has just come home. Her friend Jenny is looking very sorry for herself. Complete the dialogue, using myself, yourself, etc.
Alice: You look pale. Have you hurt (1) ...?
Jenny: Yes, I’ve cut (2) ... quite badly.
Alice: How did it happen?
Jenny: Well, Mark and Camilla were making (3) ... some lunch. I was helping them. We were really proud of (4) ..., because for the first time we’d made some bread. But
then Mark burnt (5) ... while he was getting it out of the oven, and dropped it on the floor. He was so angry with (6) ... that he broke a glass. And a piece of glass buried (7) ... in my foot!
Alice: Mark should be ashamed of (8) ... ! He should learn how to control (9) ...
2 Harvey Neilson is a successful American tennis player. He is talking about his working day. Read the text and decide which answer, A, В or C best fits each space.
Professional tennis players have to look after (1) ... . We enjoy (2) ... some of the time, but we also have to keep (3) ... fit. I live by (4) ... in a small Chicago apartment. I usually wake (5) ... up at about 7.00 and I get (6) ... up at 7.30. I put on a track suit and a pair of trainers and go for a three-mile run. Then I wash (7) ... and shave (8) ... and have (9) ... breakfast. At 8.30 my coach and I meet (10) ... at the gym and I train (11) ... for two hours. If I feel (12) ... tired during my training, I tell (13) ... I mustn’t stop (14) ..., but it’s difficult sometimes. After lunch I rest (15) ... for an hour then I spend three hours on the tennis court. In the evening I’m usually too tired to go out. I just relax (16) ... I worry (17) ... a lot about injuring (18) ... because if I get injured, I don’t earn any money.
3 Nicole Stamp has a husband and three children. She has just got a job and she is tired of doing all the work at home. Complete the sentences, using yourself, themselves, etc.
Example: I’m not going to do everything for the family. They must do more for ...
They must do more for themselves.
1 I’m not going to iron my husband’s shirts. He must iron ...
2 I’m not going to tidy the children’s rooms. They must tidy ...
3 She told her husband: I’m not going to make your breakfast. You must make ...
4 I’m not going to clean your shoes for you. You must clean ...
5 She told her children: I’m not going to help you with your homework. You must do ...
6 I’m not going to make your packed lunches every day. You must make ...
4 Complete this news story by using themselves/ourselves or each other.
Yesterday two 10-year-old children found (1) ... totally lost in a forest near Inverness. They had to spend the night there. They were found this morning by a local farmer. ’We were angry with (2) ... for getting lost,’ said one of them. ’We were frightened too, so we talked to (3) ... all night. We told (4) ... stories and asked (5) ... questions about pop songs and films. We kept (6) ... warm by lighting a small fire. And we tried to make (7) ... comfortable by using our jackets as blankets. There were lots of scary noises in the forest. We could hear owls calling to (8) ... and some deer came quite close; we could hear them scratching (9) ... against the trees. When we saw the farmer coming,
we were so pleased we actually hugged (10) ... !’
5 Write six things that you, your family or your friends have done on your own, without help.
Examples: I mended the TV myself . My parents didn't buy a new boat; they built one themselves.
Check your sentences with a teacher.